Cape Town – Three-time European Tour winner Brandon Stone is hoping to draw on the good memories at the Oman Open at Al Mouj Golf.
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The South African will make his fifth appearance in Muscat this week.
“Oman is fantastic. What a design of a golf course that is – when people ask me what’s my favourite course on the European Tour, Al Mouj Golf is definitely up there. It’s simply fantastic,” said Stone.
Aside from his two European Tour appearances in the Sultanate, the South African enjoyed top ten finishes twice when the event was on the Challenge Tour schedule.
“Coming back is really fun. I love the place, the people, the golf course, the town of Muscat so I’m very excited to be back here.”
The 26-year-old finished tied fourth in 2013 at Al Mouj Golf before a sixth placed finish in the Challenge Tour Grand Final two years later helped him on his way to 14th in the Rankings, which secured his European Tour playing privileges for the following season.
“Generally, when playing golf in the Middle East, driving is important. You’ve got to get a decent amount of carry through the air and with a lot of bunkers sitting around 280-290 yards off the tee it’s important to find the fairway – and that applies to this course, too.”
Meanwhile, Joost Luiten returns to one of his favourite courses on the calendar this week.
“I’m feeling good. It’s always good to come back to a golf course where you’ve won, where you have good memories, where you know you can play well. I love this golf course. It’s one of the best golf courses I think we play all year. It’s in great condition, the greens are firm and quick,” he said.
The Dutchman got the better of Chris Wood in a final day battle two years ago to win the inaugural edition of this event before finishing in a tie for 12th last year. The 34-year-old is a big fan of this week’s host course and is hopeful his experience will serve him well.
“It’s always great to win a tournament, especially when you can relax on the 18th and enjoy it – and that’s what I tried to do. Hopefully I can take those good vibes out on the golf course this week again.”
– European Tour
