Aqaba prepares to host Jordan’s Ayla Golf Championship

AMMAN — The city of Aqaba is preparing to host Jordan's Ayla Golf Championship in October, an Ayla statement said.

The championship is part of the MENA Golf Tour, a UAE-based initiative that was launched by the Sheikh Maktoum Golf Foundation in 2011. 

The event is the "first of its kind in Jordan, with the Ayla Golf Course being the only grass course constructed under international specifications", the statement said.

The course opened its doors to players in September 2016, and has since been welcoming golf enthusiasts from around the globe. 

A series of six tournaments will make up the second half of the 2017 MENA Golf Tour, the results of which will contribute to the global ranking of participating players, according to the statement.

Jordan joined the list of countries participating in the tour's seventh season, which include the UAE, Kuwait, Morocco, Thailand and South Africa, the chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, Mohamed Juma Buamaim, said.  

“Jordan has provided us with an opportunity to collaborate and support the sport of golf on a much grander scale, which will allow us to further highlight the importance of this tour that is quickly marching towards global recognition,” he noted.

Two of the key players participating in the tournament are Zane Scotland, a "10-time winner on the MENA Tour" and Rayhan Thomas, "the first amateur to win a MENA Tour event… and the top-ranked amateur in his native India and the Middle East", the statement concluded.