Dubai Moonlight Classic presented by EGA. Issue 2, 28th October 2021

ROUND 2

THURSDAY

OCTOBER 28, 2021

ISSUE 2

MAGIC MARIA Maria Fassi’s first circuit of the Faldo produced a scorecard that will be hung up in the clubhouse at Emirates Golf Club for posterity. Now to the job of defending her first round lead.

By Kent Gray – Editor, Golf Digest Middle East

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ith 10 missed cuts in her first 11 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, you wouldn’t have been alone in giving Maria Fassi’s name little more than a cursory glance when surveying the field for potential winners of this week’s Dubai Moonlight Classic presented by EGA. The 23-year-old Mexican’s relative anonymity lasted precisely 18 holes on Wednesday as she roared to the first round lead of the €260,000 Ladies European Tour event at Emirates Golf Club. With nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on her last hole of the night, the 16th, Fassi signed for an eight-under 63, matching the Faldo course record established by Kylie Henry in the final round of last year’s tournament. She leads by a stroke from South African Lee-Anne Pace with JA the Resort-attached Olivia Cowan alone in third place after a 65 heading into Thursday’s penultimate round. Cowan had hinted at the Faldo’s receptiveness with a stunning round of 60 in Tuesday’s Pro-Am and 31 of the 56 starters were in red numbers after the first round, including former world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn who carded a fourunder 68 to stay in touch with the leaders. But the night belonged to Fassi who, astonishingly, could have lead by more but for blotting her card with two bogeys. Not that anyone was grumbling. It was sensational and surprising golf from a player whose only previous LET rounds – scores of 73-74 – saw her miss the cut at last year’s Australian Ladies Classic Bonville.

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Wednesday’s round is even more impressive when you learn Fassi needed knee surgery in April. “It is, of course, always good to be under par but it was pretty flawless out there today,” she said. “It is my first time playing in the dark but it was awesome. I was talking with the girls in my group today [and saying] that it’s a pretty cool experience. “It’s something that I wanted to experience [night golf] at least once in my lifetime. It is a lot of fun and it gives a more relaxed vibe to the tournament which helps my mindset and my game.” Staying relaxed for the final 36 holes is the trick from here. It seems Fassi has a plan for that too. “You always look back to a round like today and hope to do the same the next day and so on. It’s very important for me to just walk in tomorrow and have a clean slate and focus on the same things I was focusing on – we have a great game plan for the golf course, and it definitely paid off today, but I just need to keep doing what I have been doing and I should be in good shape after that.” While others might have been surprised by the round, Fassi herself wasn’t. She’s been trending nicely since going under the knife with a 5th place finish at last month’s ShopRite LPGA Classic. It’s not like she is an unknown either; Fassi finished runner-up to Jennifer Kupcho at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and placed T-12 in her professional debut – impressively at the U.S. Open - later in 2019. TURN TO PAGE 2

CHIARA BELIEVES Jumeirah Golf Estates-attached teen Chiara Noja reflects on her first round as a professional. PAGE 2

BLIND SHOTS

Lydia Hall experiences Topgolf Dubai with a twist. PAGE 3

ROUND 2 TEE TIMES Plan your Thursday viewing pleasure with all the second round groupings. PAGE 4

TASTY TREAT What to do to prepare for a LET event? A cooking contest suited Olivia Cowan and Ariya Jutanugarn just fine. PAGE 6

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