Day One: Followed by an entourage of TV crew, photographers and resort guests hoping to catch a glimpse of what he produces on tour, David Lynn opened the inaugural Pro Am with a double bogey six! Another bogey on the second and all of a sudden the week of practise (during which he was an estimated 108 under for six rounds!) seemed to not have paid off. Lynn recovered with solid if not outstanding golf to shoot one over 73 in blustery conditions. Scoring on day one was led by Christophe Bausek, an Austrian representing Linz Golf Club by chance in the resort on holiday, and Gordon Brand Jr, winner of eight European Tour titles. Gary Evans and Anthony Tarchetti were one shot further back on one under 71 with Peter Mitchell shooting par. Taba Heights teaching professional Joel O Hara shot one over to lie level with David Lynn. Calle Carlsson and Josh North both shot two over to remain in contention.
Day Two: The penultimate round, generally called “moving day” proved to be just that. David Lynn proved just what he is capable of with an outstanding course record of 65 (seven under) including a drive and 5 foot putt eagle on the 16th. This moved Lynn into a two shot lead going into the final round. Gary Evans was the only other professional to break 70, with a solid 69 to add to his opening 71 moving him into second place.
Day Three: The course was set up for low scoring, and once again this proved to be the case. Eleven scores under par including a final round 66 for Calle Carlsson and Gordon Brand Jn. This was inevitably matched by David Lynn giving him a three shot victory over Gary Evans (67). Two eagles (6/9) moved Lynn to four under at the turn. Further birdies at 10 and 11 moved him to six under and a new course record looked likely. However, a three putt on 13 and missed opportunities on 14 and 15 opened the door for a charge by Gary Evans. Birdies on 14 and 16 by Evans moved him to within one of David Lynn. With the tee forward on 17 allowing the longer hitters access to the green a play-off looked possible. Evans decided to lay up and wedge into ten feet only to miss. Meanwhile, Lynn made a birdie on the short Par 4 16th to move two clear and pulled out a driver on 17th. Playing 355 yards, Lynn proceeded to hit the driver just short of the green but failed to get up and down. With a two shot lead on the last hole Evans was ahead in the middle of the fairway needing to attack the flag. His 7 iron approach zoned into the target only to be too long. A wicked bounce later, Evans was playing his third from 45 yards long. After failing to get up and down, Lynn knew he had the event won. A solid 7 iron to 20 feet and two putts later David Lynn had won the International Pro Am with a 12 under total. To add to the exciting finish and to the surprise of the European Tour star, the General Manager of the Marriott Taba Heights resort Jan Heesbeen was on hand to celebrate with a shaken bottle of Moet!
Local Talent
The local charge was led by Calle Carlsson of JW Marriott Cairo (74 71 66). Ahmed Shindy (76 73 71) finished 10th and Joel O’Hara of the Taba Heights Golf Resort (73 74 75) finished two shots further back. Joel O’Hara, the recent winner at the EPGA Order of Merit event at Katameya Heights in Cairo was expected to challenge the leaders but failed to hole the putts. O’Hara commented, “Tee to green I played very solid and felt in control. On the greens I really struggled. If you’re not hitting the ball on the right side of the flag you can have some really fast putts and this time not enough dropped”. A similar issued plagued Calle Carlsson during the first two rounds but he finally got to grips with the Paspallum turf to roll in a few putts during his final round 66.
A Team Event
There was never any doubt as to who the champions would be from start to finish, albeit a late charge nearly upset a Lynn team and individual victory. The number one team led by professional David Lynn were Cairo’s Jung Chul Bae (Mirage City), Moneim El Shafaey (Katameya Heights), and Francisco Giles (Marriott International). Their outstanding 38 under par total was nearly matched with a last day charge by Linda Formas, Dave Formas and Colin Fairweather led by team professional Calle Carlsson. Mirage City club champion Bae (invited by sponsor Orascom for his recent achievement at the Cairo course) even outscored his professional at the start with an eagle-birdie-birdie run. El Shafaey played like a sniper with pinpoint accuracy on the par 3’s and Marriott International invite Francisco Giles (GM, Renaissance Dubai) proved his worth with a total of 11 birdies over three rounds. In third place was the English team of Ryan Fenwick, Gee Fenwick, Paul Tarry and former Liverpool and Wales goalkeeper Paul Jones. Jones proved he could hold his own as a golfer with three nearest to pin prizes over the 54 holes.
Record Setter
Dave Wellsteed of Najrani, Saudi Arabia left his tee shot hanging on the lip of the 3rd during the second round but in the final round it was Peter Burr, another expatriate living in Saudi Arabia and a golfer at the Desert Browns course, who went even closer with Taba Heights’ first ever hole in one! An excellent feat for Peter, his 5 iron shot landed just short and rolled perfectly into the cup. The Taba Heights Golf Resort has decided to honour his accomplishment by placing a plaque on the 8th tee.