RIYADH // Rookie professional Tommy Mou, weeks removed from a college campus in the United States, moved to within one shot of the lead after the second round of the Mena Tour’s Dirab Championship yesterday.
The American, who completed his University of Florida career earlier this summer, shot five-under 67 – matching the day’s best score – leaving him one stroke behind Scotland’s Duncan Stewart.
Stewart, who held a share of the first-round lead, shot a bogey-free 69 and is nine-under overall.
Fresh off a runner-up finish in the European Challenge Tour’s Kazakhstan tournament, Stewart easily cruised through the second round with three birdies and no major trouble.
“My game is in great shape and the rhythm is there,” Stewart said. “You never know what will happen in golf, but I am feeling pretty relaxed going into the final.
“Playing in the final group has its own pressure, and hopefully, I will be able to handle it.”
On a course requiring precision and nerve, Mou strung together his round with maturity, mixing eight birdies with three bogeys.
The American said it was a great feeling to walk off the golf course and see his name on the upper reaches of the leaderboard.
“Everything fell in place,” said Mou, who attended the IMG Academy in Florida before college. “I played solid golf from start to finish and holing some early putts was the key.”
Mou, who left Taiwan at age 11 to attend the IMG Academy, was also two shots off the lead after the first round of the Mena event last week in Dubai, but imploded with an 82 and eventually finished joint 30th.
Defending champion Shafiq Masih slipped to a share of 11th, nine shots back, after shooting 76.
“I was hitting the ball well, but putting let me down,” he said. “Whatever I did right was derailed once I got on the greens.”
England’s Zane Scotland, who has won two of the three Mena events this season and lost another in a playoff, shot 72 and is four strokes back heading into today’s final round. Scotland is tied with amateur Michael Harradine, a Swiss who lives in Dubai.
Matthew Swales of England matched Mou with a 67.
The Moroccan amateur Mustapha El Maouas shot 74, leaving him at one over and in contention for a top-15 finish. Countryman Younes El Hassani shot 74 for a total of two-over 146. The cut came at 11-over 155, with 41 professionals, including the UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh, and 11 amateurs making it to the final round.
