GEORGE MURRAY HAS HIGH HOPES OF SUCCESS AT OMAN CLASSIC

                            

Pressure Cooker heats up in sunny Oman

The penultimate tournament of the European Challenge Tour season is always a significant event, but this year it takes on even more importance as the Tour makes its maiden visit to sunny Oman for the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic.  

George Murray is hoping the links style of the venue for this week’s crucial National Bank of Oman Golf Classic will help his cause as the Scot chases a big result to keep his hopes of European Tour graduation via the Challenge Tour alive for another week.

The 30 year old currently sits in 55^th place in the Challenge Tour Rankings and needs a big finish at Almouj Golf, The Wave this week if he is to make it into the 45-man season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club.

A return to Qualifying School and Second Stage would beckon if he were not to make the most of his final chance this week, but Murray is just focussing on his game at the scorching hot Muscat venue.

“This is probably one of the best courses we have played all year,” said Murray. “So hopefully the wind kicks up a little bit and I can play well.

“If you look at my results, I have played well when the weather is nice. It just seems better for your body and hopefully I can get the putter going early doors and shoot a few nice low numbers and get in the mix.

“The top 45 is not the be all and end all because you could go and do well at Qualifying School. I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself, I just want to go and try play nicely.

“My form has definitely started to improve because it was dreadful for a while but I worked on a few things and hopefully it’s getting better. The course is linksy so it definitely suits. It’s quite bouncy and there is a bit of grain on the greens so hopefully I can get the run of them early on and play well.”

Italian Andrea Pavan is still the man to catch at the top of the Rankings, but much of the attention in Muscat will focus on those players desperately bidding to secure their berths in next week’s finale.  

For the likes of Julien Guerrier, who climbed to 45th place on the back of his top ten finish in China last week, nerves will be frayed as the Frenchman strives to cling on to the last remaining ticket to the €330,000 showpiece in Dubai.    

Just €445 separates Guerrier from Englishman Daniel Brooks in 46th place and, with a prize fund of US$300,000 on offer to the 114-man field, there are likely to be several twists and turns throughout the week.

One player who will arrive in Oman full of confidence is Nacho Elvira, who won last week’s Foshan Open to climb to 13th place in the Rankings. Another strong performance from the Spaniard this week would effectively seal his graduation to The European Tour alongside his close friend and former college room-mate Pavan.

Appropriately enough, with just the top 45 players in the Rankings progressing to the season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club next week, Oman will this week become the 45th country to have hosted a Challenge Tour event.

With so much at stake it is little wonder that the tournament has attracted such a strong field, with second placed Brooks Koepka and 22nd ranked Seve Benson – both of whom are now plying their trade predominantly on The European Tour – the only players from the top 30 not teeing up at the stunning Almouj Golf, The Wave.

Italian Andrea Pavan is still the man to catch at the top of the Rankings, but much of the attention in Muscat will focus on those players desperately bidding to secure their berths in next week’s finale. 

For the likes of Julien Guerrier, who climbed to 45th place on the back of his top ten finish in China last week, nerves will be frayed as the Frenchman strives to cling on to the last remaining ticket to the €330,000 showpiece in Dubai.   

Just €445 separates Guerrier from Englishman Daniel Brooks in 46th place and, with a prize fund of US$300,000 on offer to the 114-man field, there are likely to be several twists and turns throughout the week.

One player who will arrive in Oman full of confidence is Nacho Elvira, who won last week’s Foshan Open to climb to 13th place in the Rankings. Another strong performance from the Spaniard this week would effectively seal his graduation to The European Tour alongside his close friend and former college room-mate Pavan.

Elvira, who saw off India’s Shiv Kapur and the English duo of Tyrrell Hatton and Sam Walker in Foshan City last week, will bid to become the first player this season to secure back to back titles.

He said: “Before China my only thoughts were just to qualify for the Grand Final in Dubai, but after my win I’m obviously thinking of the top 15. There’s still a long way to go and a lot of prize money to play for, so a lot can happen but at least I’ve given myself a chance.

“I’ve never won before so I don’t know how hard it is to play well the week after, but hopefully I can keep this feeling going for two more weeks and finish it off.”   

The 7,342-yard, par 72 championship course at Almouj Golf, The Wave, which was designed by Australian Major Champion Greg Norman, follows the natural lines of Muscat’s pristine coastline.

ENDS

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