ITALIAN DUO BATTLE IN A MARATHON PLAY-OFF FOR VICTORY AT DIRAB GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB.

The MENA Tour has successfully hosted tournaments 3 & 4 in Riyadh over the past 2 weeks.

Following on from Bailey Gill’s victory at Riyadh Golf Club, the MENA Tour moved over to Dirab Golf & Country Club to host Tournament 4 on it’s 2022/23 schedule.

More than 90 players, made up of 26 nationalities, had signed up for the 2nd event in Riyadh in as many weeks. Dirab Golf & Country Club offered a very different challenge to players with its strategic hole locations, narrow fairways & challenging greens.

Tournament 4 opened up with great scoring from England’s Matta Killen & Italy’s Aron Zemmer with opening rounds of 6 under par (66). In total, 21 players were 1 under par or better after round 1, with the top 10 only separated by 3 shots.

Course conditions on day 2 were more challenging for players as the weather changed which made for tougher scoring options. English player Jack Floydd & Cech Republic’s Gordon Brixi, however, triumphed in these conditions returning scores of 66 & 67, respectively, on the day to leave them only 1 shot behind Zemmer. Killen managed a level par round of 72 to stay within 2 shots of the leader. Italy’s Andrea Saracino also stayed in touch with a second-round score of 4 under par (68) to also start 2 shots behind Zemmer.

Day 3 provided the excitement that everyone wanted. Andrea Saracino shot an impressive 4 under par round to return to the clubhouse at 10 under par.

Zemmer had to make birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff to decide the tournament. The Italian duo battled over 4 payoff holes before a winner could be found. Both players were solid over the first 3 playoff holes, but on the 4th attempt, Saracino found trouble in the trees on the right side of the fairway.

Zemmer made a solid par over the 608 yard, par 5, 18th hole to take out the victory. De- lighted with his victory, Zemmer thanked all involved for the tournament and is looking forward to playing in future MENA Tour events over the coming months.

MENA Tour will be shortly announcing the next series of tournaments, which will be played from January 2023 onwards. MENA Tour is growing the game of golf in the region by offering world-class tournaments at many of the MENA region's finest golf facilities to both professional & amateur players.