Dubai-based Rayhan Thomas showcased the remarkable strides his game has made in recent times when he won the 2016 Qatar Open on Saturday and clinched a dream spot in this year’s Commercialbank Qatar Masters.
The 16-year-old, who is the No1 amateur in the UAE having won the Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit last season, defeated Dutchman Pierre Verlaar Jr in sensational fashion at Doha Golf Club yesterday.
Thomas first forced a play-off with a birdie on the par-5 closing hole of the Peter Harradine-designed golf course, which is the host venue of the Qatar Masters, and then birdied it again in the first extra hole.
Earlier both players could not be separated after three rounds and were tied at the top on three-over par 219, having started the day tied for the lead at one-over par. Both shot rounds of two-over par 74 each to be one better than England’s Charlie Strickland (220), and two better than proven amateurs of the region – Doha-based Slovakian Jakub Hrinda and Saudi Arabian Othman Al Mulla.
A delighted Thomas told Sport360: “I am over the moon. It has not sunk in yet, but this is definitely the best win of my career, especially considering the prize that was on the offer.
“I am going to earn a lot of WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking) points, but that is beside the point. This gives me my first chance to play with the established stars of the game in a big European Tour event. I am really excited about that,” added the Indian who is ranked 1,468th among the amateurs in the world.
Thomas showed a lot of character to extricate himself from a sticky situation towards the end of the final round. Verlaar Jnr had taken a three-shot lead with two holes to play and looked set to claim the 30th edition of the Qatar Open.
That was after Thomas three-putted for a double bogey on the par-4 15th hole, and then failed to reduce the gap on the driveable par-4 16th hole, where he found the green with his tee shot and yet finished with a par after a second successive three-putt.
But the pressure got to Verlaar Jnr on the 17th and he made a double bogey on the testing par-3 hole, before Thomas smashed a three-wood second shot from 260 yards on the 18th to 25 feet and calmly two-putted for a birdie to tie with his rival.
SCORES
(After third round, par-72 course)
219 _ Rayhan Thomas (IND) 73–72–74, Pierre Verlaar Jr (NDL) 71–74–74
220 _ Charlie Strickland (UK) 72–76–72
221 _ Jakub Hrinda (SLO) 73–75–73, Othman Al Mulla (KSA) 74–72–75
222 _ Jacob Jorgensen (DEN) 72–77–73
225 _ Thomas Strandemo (USA) 77–74–74, Ali Saleh Al Kaabi (QAT) 77–74–74, Issa Abou El Ela (EGY) 77–73–75
226 _ Jan Szmidt (POL) 76–76–74
227 _ Ali Al-Shahrani (QAT) 75–78–74, Alfredo Curbishley (UK) 72–75–80