The European Challenge Tour heads to Saadiyat Beach Golf Club for the second of back-to-back events in the UAE. Here are three men to keep an eye on at the UAE Challenge…
Form horse
Ivan Cantero Gutierrez tees off this week fresh from his best finish of the season so far. A tied second place at the Abu Dhabi Challenge last week, where he finished two shots off the lead on 17 under par, will give him plenty of encouragement to go one better this time around. Prior to that, the Spaniard finished in a tie for 11th at The Challenge presented by KGA in India, so he’s trending in the right direction and is currently placed 16th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
Local boy
Joshua Grenville-Wood had an outstanding week at the Abu Dhabi Challenge, where he led after day one and eventually finished in a tie for second place. The Englishman, who is now a UAE resident having moved to Dubai in 2019, was at home in the near 40 degree heat. The temperature will soar again this week and he’ll be hoping to do the same. His length off the tee will be an advantage at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, which is playing around 7,750 yards from the back tees.
The outsider
Tom Vaillant is playing in his first full season on the Challenge Tour having graduated from the Alps Tour last season, and he has had an impressive start to the 2023 campaign. The Frenchman just missed out on a maiden Challenge Tour victory at the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship in South Africa at the start of the season having led for two rounds, eventually finishing in a tie for third. Following that result, he’s made every cut, with last week’s tie for 21st his best finish since. Vaillant is also comfortable in windy conditions which is something the players will need to contend with this week on the Arabian Gulf’s first beachfront golf course.
