AL AIN // Faycal Serghini of Morocco backed up his opening-round 65 with another 65 on Tuesday to stand atop the leaderboard at the Mena Tour Championship, the season-ending event of the Mena Tour.
Serghini is three strokes up on the English duo of Matthew Turner and the amateur James Allan, with Ian Keenan of England, Nicholas Mullhaupt of Switzerland and Michael Harradine four back at eight-under 134.
Serghini started slowly, dropping a shot on his opening hole, but he heated up fast with an eagle on the par-5 sixth thanks to a tremendous five-wood shot that left him 10 feet from the pin.
“I drove well off the tee and my putting was really solid,” said the Moroccan, 38.
“I bogeyed the first, which is an easy hole, but picked up shots on the third and fifth before making that eagle. That little stretch steadied my round.”
Serghini closed with a pair of birdies.
“I look forward to the final round,” said the Casablanca native. “Tomorrow is another day and the thinking is to go out and have fun.”
Allan, 19, enhanced his chances of winning the amateur division with his second round five-under 66 to go along with his opening-round 67, at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.
“I managed to hole some good putts,” he said. “I think that contributed to a good round.
Turner was almost flawless in his pursuit of Serghini, striking a bogey-free 66, and Keenan recorded four birdies and an eagle against two bogeys to stay in contention with a 67.
Keenan is third in the Order of Merit behind winner Zane Scotland, who skipped this tournament, and Stephen Dodd.
Dodd is in a group at 15th after a second-round 68.
Mustapha El Maouas, who was the Order of Merit leader on the amateur side, shot a 70 for a two-day total of 142.
The top three professionals and the leading amateur will be invited to compete in the US$2.5 million (Dh9.2m) 2014 Dubai Desert Classic, beginning on January 30.
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Sassuolo v Bologna (11.45pm)
Saturday
Brescia v Torino (6pm)
Inter Milan v Verona (9pm)
Napoli v Genoa (11.45pm)
Sunday
Cagliari v Verona (3.30pm)
Udinese v SPAL (6pm)
Sampdoria v Atalanta (6pm)
Lazio v Lecce (6pm)
Parma v Roma (9pm)
Juventus v Milan (11.45pm)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20Profile
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Scores in brief:
- New Medical Centre 129-5 in 17 overs bt Zayed Cricket Academy 125-6 in 20 overs.
- William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 188-8 in 20 overs bt One Stop Tourism 184-8 in 20 overs
- Alubond Tigers 138-7 in 20 overs bt United Bank Limited 132-7 in 20 overs
- Multiplex 142-6 in 17 overs bt Xconcepts Automobili 140 all out in 20 overs
if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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