Duncan Stewart aims to maintain top form on MENA Tour

By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Published on 18/09/2012 01:29

ON-FORM Duncan Stewart is heading to the Middle East to keep his game in shape for a EuroPro Tour money-list title shootout at Woburn in November.

After claiming back-to-back £10,000 top prizes on the PGA-supported third-tier circuit, the 28-year-old from Grantown-on-Spey has entered the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) Tour.

“Zane Scotland had been trying to persuade me to give it a go and I now have the money to do so,” said Stewart, who will play in all six events on the circuit, which is an initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation. The first one starts on Sunday at Dubai Creek and carries a $50,000 prize fund, as do tournaments at Saadiyat, Dirab Golf & Country Club, Tower Link and Al Badia.

It rises to $75,000 for the season-ending Tour Championship, which is taking place at Al Ain Equestrian Shooting & Golf Club on 28-30 October.

In addition to Scotland, Stewart will be playing against the likes of Welshman Stephen Dodd, a three-time European Tour winner, and South African Anton Haig, a former Johnnie Walker Classic champion.

Tom Buchanan, the former Duddingston assistant, has also been entered by Al Ain, where he now works.

“It is the perfect chance for me to keep playing between now and the EuroPro Tour Championship,” added Stewart, who will go into that event trailing the money-list leader, Welshman Stuart Manley, by less than £1,300. Both have already secured Challenge Tour cards for next season but Stewart has his sights set on emulating compatriots Paul McKechnie (2002) and Scott Jamieson (2009) by claiming the Order of Merit crown.

Comrie’s Wallace Booth, winner of the Scottish Classic at Mar Hall in August, has slipped to fifth on the money-list and has Elliot Saltman (Archerfield) breathing down his neck in the battle for the final card up for grabs.

While Stewart has already secured his step-up, the Highlander could still bypass the second circuit by earning a European Tour spot next season. The Highlander sets out on that particular route at Wychwood Park, near Crewe, today, when he’s among three Scots in action in the latest Qualifying School stage one event.

Namesake Michael, the former Scottish Amateur champion and Walker Cup winner, is also launching his bid at the Cheshire venue, as is Tom Higson. The field for the 72-hole event also includes Irishman Alan Dunbar, who secured a Masters spot next year after winning the Amateur Championship at Royal Troon but will give that up if he can go all the way in the tough Q-School process.