Spain's Jose Ignacio Marin Casado rode a blistering start on Thursday to open up a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the MENA Tour’s Pattana Golf Championship which has been reduced to 36 holes due to bad weather, the MENA Tour, an initiative of the UAE-based Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, reported on its website.
The Spaniard ace, starting from the 10th tee, rattled off six birdies in a row from the 11th en route to a sizzling eight-under 64 as Thailand’s Nakul Vichitryuthasastr went bogey-free to occupy solo second on six under.
England’s Jodan Garnish and Udayan Mane of India fired matching 67s that left the duo sharing third a further shot adrift, one clear of a seven-man group which included Venezuela’s Wolmer Murillo, the winner of the MENA Tour’s Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen last year.
Brazil’s Dubai-based Tiago Lobo mixed five birdies with an eagle and four bogeys to lead the amateur division on a 69, three shots ahead of fast-improving Indian star Arkesh Bhatia, who is also based in Dubai.
Emirati Ahmed Al Musharrekh was able to hit 71s to stay in the competition for the first places.
The Middle East & North Africa Golf Tour, better known as MENA Tour, was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking.

Source: WAM