Chris Wood claimed a third MENA Golf Tour title of the season in dramatic fashion, while a fast-finishing Mark Power finished tied for second and a closing bogey saw Alex Maguire a shot further back.
Wood showed nerves-of-steel to complete a bunker save on the 18th hole at the Al Houara Classic to hold off a three-way challenge and win by a single shot on -10 at Al Houara Golf Club, one clear of Power, Pierre Pineau, and Joseph Pagdin, who all finished at nine-under.
Power birdied four of his final five holes – including three-in-a-row on 16, 17 and 18 – to pile the pressure on Wood, fellow Irishman Maguire, and Pagdin who were playing in the final group, but Wood retained his composure and kept his foot on the accelerator on the back nine after picking up three birdies on the front.
Further birdies on the 10th and 13th kept him in front – but it was far from plain sailing, as Wood acknowledged it had been a mental battle throughout.
“I had to rely on my fight and grit, my wedge play and my putting to hang in there,” said Wood. “After a few holes I realised it was just one of those days where I needed to stick in and grind.”
With Pineau and Power already in the clubhouse at nine-under and playing partners Pagdin and Maguire both pushing him to the wire, the tension came to a head on the 18th. Standing on the tee with a one-shot lead, Wood found the rough on the right, leaving a difficult approach with the pin cut tight to the right. Forced to play for the heart of the green, the wind at his back and unable to generate enough spin, his approach found the bunker at the back of the green. He faced a 20-yard bunker shot under the most intense pressure – and delivered, splashing out to four or five feet before rolling in the putt for par and victory.
“On the last, I hit a tee shot I’m not entirely comfortable with and ended up facing a tough bunker shot up and over a ridge, back into the wind,” he said. “It wasn’t ideal under pressure, but to knock it to four or five feet and hole the putt was very satisfying. I came here to win and that’s what I’ve done.”
Maguire started slowly, bogeying the first, but reeled off three consecutive birdies on four, five and six to get back in the hunt, and after another bogey on nine, responded to birdie three of the first six on the back to tie Wood at the top. But after bogeying the 16th, he played too aggressively at the last and succumbed to another, slipping to a share of fifth place overall.
Paul McBride closed out with back-to-back rounds of 69 to claim a top-10 finish with a share of ninth place at -4.
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