England’s Steven Tiley may have seen off the challenge of Colin Montgomerie last year, but he will need to do the same to another Ryder Cup hero in the shape of Rory McIlroy if he is to successfully defend his title when the pair line up at next week’s Egyptian Open 2010 presented by SODIC.
Twelve months ago, Europe’s triumphant Ryder Cup Captain Montgomerie finished fifth on his debut appearance in the $250,000 event, as Tiley swept aside his challengers to win by four shots at the JW Marriott, Mirage City Golf Club in Cairo, Egypt.
This year, Tiley – who is part of the same ISM management stable as McIlroy – faces yet another formidable hurdle in the form of the World Number Nine, as Cairo makes its official debut on the European Challenge Tour Schedule from October 20-23.
“I think it’s great to have European Tour players playing on the Challenge Tour, especially such high profile players as Monty and Rory,” said Tiley, who has accepted an invitation from the organising Egyptian Golf Federation to defend the oldest trophy in Middle East golf. “It really makes the Challenge Tour profile grow – the more publicity it gets, the bigger it will become.”
The 28 year old from Canterbury, Kent, earned his own share of the headlines when he flirted with the top of the leaderboard following an opening round 66 at this year’s Open Championship at St Andrews, before McIlroy trumped him with a 63.
“The Open was a great experience – just like winning the Egyptian Open, which will also never be forgotten. I did what I set out to achieve, which was to get some sponsorship and then some coverage for my career. Both my manager Chubby Chandler and I agreed that was just the thing my career needed.”
Since The Open Championship, Tiley has enjoyed back-to-back top ten finishes on the Challenge Tour in Strasbourg – where he came second – and Kazakhstan. He is excited at the thought of returning to the scene of one of his first professional victory, and testing himself in the challenging desert winds.
“It was very windy last year but I believe that was a major factor in me winning,” he added. “I grew up playing at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal back home in Kent, so I grew up in the wind. I just imagined I was playing back home, so it will only help my game returning to Cairo as the familiar surroundings should help. I was delighted when the same venue was announced earlier in the year.”
Whilst last year’s tournament enjoyed the support of the Challenge Tour, the Egyptian Open 2010 presented by SODIC is the first golf tournament in Egypt to offer World Ranking points, and is also the last chance for the Challenge Tour Members to book their places at the season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, which takes place the following week in Puglia, Italy.
“Obviously Rory McIlroy should be on everyone’s list of players to watch, especially after the Ryder Cup win, but there are so many good players on the Challenge Tour you can’t really pick out names as anyone can win, which is the excitement this Tour has over most others,” said Tiley.
“But two players who have caught my eye are Thorbjørn Olesen and Rob Dinwiddie. Thorbjørn finished second to me in Cairo last year, is young and will be a class act, while I think Rob is due a good week as he is a great player and definitely one to watch.”
The Egyptian Open 2010 presented by SODIC also enjoys support from the Egyptian Tourist Authority, Mercedes, Egypt Air, JW Marriott, Mirage City Golf Club, Julius Bär Advisory SAE, Dell, Drexel, Club Car, Hydroturf, Toro, Microsoft, Global Brands, Toshiba, Heineken, Coca Cola, Dockland, Titleist and ECCO. Entrance is free of charge to the general public.
