The historic Egyptian Open has once again stepped onto the world stage, reports William McKee The Egyptian Open golf tournament christened a new era this weekend with 72 holes of golf at the Mirage Golf Club. Not since 1956, when England's Ryder Cup player Bernard Hunt won at the famous Gezira Club, has the Egyptian Open seen such an international field of challengers. Of the 81 players competing for the oldest golf trophy in the Middle East, 64 came from abroad and converged on, what everyone agreed to be, a world class golf course with difficulty enough to keep pros nervous. The most famous professional among the challengers was current Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie. Playing along side him were 17 Egyptians, the favourite being the 12-time Open winner and defending champion, Amr Abu El-Ela. He met his match in the field made up mostly of young Europeans. It was Steven Tiley of England whose name will be etched on to the historic trophy with famous players of the past. Having played well enough in the first three days, he pulled away from the pack on the final day with a comfortable four stroke victory. He said the course was well prepared but tough because of the wind. After his victory he was found playing snooker in the club house, and when asked if snooker helped his golf game, he said, "At least there's no wind in snooker." When asked what he focused on to stay at the top of leader board, he said, "I just hit it, and then I find it. Hit it and find it." The windy conditions reeked havoc on the pros and made the competition fun to watch for the crowds that came out. After one windy day of competition, juniors, amateurs and pros alike listened to Montgomerie give a golf clinic where he explained and demonstrated his low shots that avoid the wind. Eight-time winner of The Order of Merit, the European Tour's top honor, Montgomerie said his secret is to keep golf simple, and the secret to hitting the ball low is hitting it slow. "It's just physics," he said. Calle Carlson, a crowd favourite, may be because of his brightly coloured plaid pants, but likely because he is one of the pros at Mirage, moved on to the score board amidst cheers, with a long birdie putt on the 15th hole. His home turf advantage brought him to within four strokes of the leader. Though he fell out of contention the next day, Carlson said he had a fantastic time with the unfolding of the Open's new stature. The Egyptian Open is now on the European Challenge Tour with the signing of a three-year contract. The head pro at Mirage and Egyptian Golf Federation manager Gerard Bent explained that the success should be attributed to the Egyptian Golf Federation. With Dubai making such a splash in the world of golf, Ayman Hussein, the chairman of the EGF, and Mohamed El Attar, vice chairman, along with Bent, endeavored to resurrect the history of the oldest trophy in the region, having begun in 1921, well before Dubai had a golf course. In order to do this, the purse jumped to $200,000 this year. The purse in 1956, at LE2,000, made it worthwhile for Europeans like A D Locke and South Africans like Gary Player to join the field. Between then and now, famous courses have suffered or disappeared altogether, and the purse became a pittance through the 60's to the 90's. But golf is on the rise in Egypt. With the building of new golf courses like the Mirage, and revamping older ones, the new format of the Open offers golf enthusiasts something exciting to see. The rub will be that local contenders will all but fall by the wayside in the new Open. It's likely that no Egyptian will qualify for next year's Open. But an alternative Egyptian Open will be played -- for Egyptians only. This will give the likes of Ezzat Abou Kassem, who led the Egyptians in the Open with a +12, and of course, the great Abou El-Ela, who finished 30 strokes behind with a +17, the chance to lead the score board once again. Or, another great Egyptian golfer will rise to the occasion, as was the case in the past, with Mohamed Said Moussa, or El-Doshe, who won the Egyptian Open a record 26 times between 1958 and 1987, and played internationally, including 25 World Cup tournaments. When Egypt Open champion Tiley as asked if he'd met the defending champion, Abou El-Ela, the 27-year-old said he hadn't "but I'll see his name on the trophy 12 times."
