Former England cricketer Kieswetter impresses on Mena Tour debut as Herati takes lead in Kuwait

Joe Herati was the standout player in the opening round of the Sahara Kuwait Championship. Courtesy Mena Golf Tour

Former England cricketer Craig Kieswetter made an impressive start to his first Mena Golf Tour event, carding a four-under par 66 for a share of ninth after the opening round of the Sahara Kuwait Championship on Monday.

Kieswetter, 28, played 46 ODIs and 25 Twenty20 internationals for England before retiring in June 2015 due to an eye injury.

The South African-born wicketkeeper batsman played his last 10 holes in five-under to lead the amateur division, one ahead of Brazil’s Dubai-based Tiago Lobo.

Englishman Joe Herati produced a career-best round on the Mena Golf Tour to take the opening round lead, with an eight-under par 62. Fellow Englishman Stuart Archibald and Fernand Osther of the Netherlands are two shots back in second place.

A five-man group, including the Ascorp Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open winner Craig Hinton, Lebanon’s Peter Badawy, Jack McDonald of Scotland, and England’s Daniel Owen are a further shot back on five-under.

“I was just thinking about my father all the time, but managed to keep the round going,” said Hinton, whose father was diagnosed with brain tumour last week. “I had everything under control. I drove the ball well and holed lots of good putts.”

Osther, playing in his first Mena Golf Tour event, enjoyed a bogey-free round to get himself into contention.

“I played really nicely. I don’t think I missed any green out,” Osther said. “I gave myself plenty of birdie opportunities and made good use of the par-5s.

“If you can drive well off the tee, you can post a good score and that’s exactly what I did to keep the ball in play.

“I like the course. It’s a bit wide open on the front nine, but it becomes more challenging, especially after the 13th due to the narrow fairways.”

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