Dubai: Rigel Fernandes Wins Two Major Golf Open Tournaments
Gulf News
Dubai, Jul 28: 11 year old Rigel Fernandes was crowned the overall net champion of Ashworth Men's Summer Open at Arabian Ranches Golf Club yesterday.
Rigel (TMD) playing with a handicap of 18 scored a net score 63 to win the overall net title by six strokes. The 2007 Ashworth Men's Summer Open was supported by Xerox and Gulf News held yesterday at Arabian Ranches Golf Club.
Rigel had a remarkable game yesterday - he started on 15th hole and his scores included 8 pars and 9 bogies and a single double.
The tournament, one of the 4 key Calendar Open Tournaments on the annual ARGC fixture list, had an Individual Stroke play format with play from the Blue Tee yardage course at 6807 yards.
The tournament attracted entries from all the local UAE Golf Clubs with 45 players from the Home Club and the balance of 27 from non-ARGC golfers. Others of note from the 72 player field included in the Gross Division Bayaan Lakdawala (DCGYC) with 76. The leading home players on 77 were Johann Wasserman and Andy Burrow.
In the Net Division 6 behind the champion came 3 players on net 69 with home player Pat Sweeney (12) winning on a count back from Trevor Harris (UGA) (16) and the improving Jim Prescott (ARGC) (14).
Elliott Gray, Golf Operations Manager at the Arabian Ranches club said at the prize presentation: "We congratulate all the players for their support. It has been a great day's golf - especially from the winners. The CSS was calculated at 75 with only 11 players breaking the 80 gross barrier and this is proof of the challenge out there today from such a strongly assembled field."
Last month, Rigel won the 6th Emirates Golf Summer open by scoring 84 on the Emirates Golf club Wadi course and 89 on the championship Majlis score for an aggregate net score on 133 for the two rounds on 22nd and 23rd June 2007. Rigel also won the Ecco monthly medal in June at his home club – The Montgomerie. So, overall it has been an excellent summer for Rigel who just celebrated his 11th birthday earlier this month. Rigel currently trains at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Rigel will soon leave for Pinehurst, North Carolina where for the second year running he will represent UAE at the US Kids World Junior Golf championship from Aug 2 to 4, 2007.