Al Kurdi defies Ayla wind to share lead in Jordan

Jordan’s 17-year-old amateur Shergo Al Kurdi, attached to Ayla Golf Club, made full use of his local knowledge to snatch a share of lead in the opening round of the $75,000 Journey to Jordan #1 on a difficult scoring day.

At a wind-swept Greg Norman-designed course, Al Kurdi started with a bogey and finished with one but made four birdies in between to post a two-under par 70 round, later matched by England’s Alex Belt and Scotland’s Sam Locke.

England’s David Langley and Sweden’s Per Langfors were the only other players to come in with sub-par scores, tied fourth at one-under par 71 in the season-opening event of the 2020 season of the MENA Tour by Arena. Eleven players, including former European Tour stars Scott Henry of Scotland and Jamie Rutherford of England, were tied for the sixth place at even-par 72.

Al Kurdi, a two-time reigning Jordan Open champion, missed two birdie putts from inside five feet on the ninth and 10th, but made three monster putts for a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th hole onwards. “It’s funny how this game can be at times. After missing those two putts, I made two putts from 20 feet, and the one on 13th was from 25 feet. And a little later, I drove the par-4 15th green and three-putted to make a par,” said Al Kurdi. “It really could have been a very low round for me today. It’s never fun to finish with a bogey, but I am very happy with my score given the tough conditions.”  The final round of the 54-hole event will be played on Wednesday.