8am Round-Up: Scots trio off to good starts in Dubai

Title favourite Paul O'Hara finished fifth behind Duddingston's Ross Munro at Royal Dornoch

Lutton’s three-under 69 left him sandwiched between compatriots Daniel Hendry (68) and Paul Doherty (70) as amateur Rayhan Thomas maintained his eye-catching form to set the pace along with England’s Craig Hinton and Shahid Javed from Pakistan on 67.

Thomas, a 16-year-old Dubai-based prodigy from India, won the Scottish Boys’ Open Stroke-Play Championship at Lanark this summer and recently upstaged the pros to claim the Dubai Creek Open, another MENA Tour event, in a play-off.

Like Thomas, fellow amateur Hendry blossomed through being part of a junior development programme while growing up in Dubai, where he won the prestigious Shaikh Rashid Trophy in 2011.

“I think I hit all the fairways and didn’t make any major mistake out there,” said the 22-year-old Scot of his opening salvo. “I felt my iron game was pretty good which led to aggression.

“Making a birdie on the long par-3, 17th was the highlight of my round. I hit my four iron to within six feet and holed the ensuing birdie putt which was quite pleasing.”

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Duddingston’s Ross Munro claimed the biggest win of his career with a two-shot victory in the PGA in Scotland’s Sandy Pipey Young Masters at Royal Dornoch.

Rounds of 65 and 69 gave the Edinburgh man a six-under-par total at the Sutherland venue, where his closest challenger was Musselburgh’s Cameron Marr (70-66).

Munro, who shared the lead at the halfway stage in this year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open qualifier at Moray before slipping to joint-19th, carded 10 birdies over the two days.

Title favourite Paul O’Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) finished fifth on 139, beating his older brother Steve by three shots.

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The 2020 World Amateur Team Championships will be held in Hong Kong, the International Golf Federation has announced.

The women’s Espirito Santo Trophy will be held at Hong Kong Golf Club’s Old and New courses while the men’s Eisenhower Trophy will take place on a composite clourse at Hong Kong Golf Club and The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club.

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Hilton Park pair Christina MacPherson and Maggie Weston finished third in the Ladies Golf Union’s Coronation Foursomes Grand Final, sponsored by Peugeot, over the Eden Course at St Andrews.

Featuring 16 pairs from all over the UK, the Stableford event was won by Wike Ridge duo Enid Gott and Karen Hughes with 44 points.