Calling the MENA Golf Tour a game-changer in fast-tracking the growth of the Royal & Ancient sport in the Arab world, celebrated amateur Othman Almulla insisted that the time is ripe for the region’s talent to step up to the plate and show what they can bring to the party.

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“The tour is just awesome, the best thing that can happen to the region’s golf. The experience that you gain from playing alongside an international field is something unique for the region’s players, especially the amateurs,” said Othman, who, at 21, became the youngest Arab amateur golfer to qualify and play in the 2007 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Popularly known as the ‘Saudi Tiger’, Almulla is also the youngest to win the Pan Arab Championship and the Saudi Aramco Invitational, both at age 21.

“When I was growing up as a golfer and winning all the domestic events at 20 something, we only had the Arab or GCC championships once in a while and we ended up playing with same guys over and over again,” he added.

“The end result is anybody’s guess. We made little or no improvement,” said Almulla ahead of the American Express Dirab Championship starting Monday.

“The scenario has changed since then with the (MENA Golf ) Tour providing a perfect platform for the region’s players to hone their skills in a competitive environment.”

Almulla, who had taken a sabbatical from golf to concentrate of education, added: “I am done with studies and look forward to playing on the tour on a regular basis. Fresh after posting a top-seven finish at the Hong Kong Amateur Open, Almulla featured in the Dubai Open last week, finishing third in the MENA Division.

“My ball striking was pretty good, but just couldn’t read the greens. The event has given me a lot of confidence. I have this self-belief that I can win at Dirab and, hopefully, become the first amateur to do so on the MENA Golf Tour. That’s the goal,” said the 29-year-old.

For that to happen, Almulla will need to summon his ‘A’ game as the field comprises 20 amateurs, including 10 from Saudi Arabia, highlighted by the presence of Prince Khaled Saud Al Faisal.

Spearheading the challenge in the professional division will be the English duo of Lee Corfield and Luke Joy, who between them share five titles on the MENA tour, and Pakistan’s Shafiq Masih, the winner of the inauguration edition of the American Express Dirab Championship in 2012.

“I am pretty familiar with the course, where I have been a teaching professional for many years,” said Masih. “Accuracy off the tee is a must to find the tree-lined narrow fairways. Also, the greens are quite small, which means you need to be on top of your game to pass the test.”

An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region.