Curtis Luck, Rayhan Thomas in Omega Dubai Desert Classic Field
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (February 1, 2017) -- For the second time in the span of a couple weeks Curtis Luck and Rayhan Thomas will be teeing it up on the European Tour. Just weeks after playing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship the duo will be competing in this weeks Omega Dubai Desert Classic hosted by the Emirates Golf Club.
Luck and Thomas will be joining a field that includes Tiger Woods, two-time major winner Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood, 2016 British Open winner Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and defending champion and last years Masters winner Danny Willet.
At the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Luck ended up finishing 3-under in a tie for 49th while Thomas missed the cut. However, Thomas is hoping that local knowledge will help him do just a bit better this week.
Speaking to Joy Chakravarty of Sport 360 Thomas said, “I’ve wanted to play the Dubai desert Classic for a while now. Since I was at least 12, I’ve been coming out to watch this event, and it’s great to be here at home. I know this place like the back of my hand. Hopefully, that will serve me well this week.”
Thomas, 17-year-olds, is originally from India and is currently the 109th ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and the top-ranked amateur in the United Arab Emirates.
In September of 2016 Thomas made history when he won the Dubai Creek Open and became the first amateur to win an event on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Golf Tour.
Thomas, who finished second in the Dubai Creek Open the year before, won the title by emerging from a playoff with England's Luke Joy. Additionally, Thomas placed fifth at the 2016 Thailand Amateur Championship and finished as the second amateur in the MENA Golf Tour Order of Merit in 2015.
On Thursday Thomas will tee off on No. 10 at 8:35 a.m. GST playing alongside S.S.P Chawrasia and Anirban Lahiri.
Of course we know all about Luck's success of the past year. Along with his U.S. Amateur and Asia-Pacific Amateur wins he was the low amateur at the Australian Open where he finished 7-under and tied for 11th. This week will be another opportunity for Luck to measure his game against many of the world's best before playing in the quickly approaching Masters.
Luck, the No. 2 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, will begin his week on Thursday at 8:25 a.m. playing with Richie Ramsay and Peter Uihlein.
Earlier this week it was announced that Luck had signed with IMG in preparation of beginning his professional career later this year.
“I’m delighted to be signing with the team at IMG,” Luck said of the signing. “The brand speaks for itself in terms of the players they represent and all the great events they run. Their global network of offices gives me confidence that I will be well looked after as I travel round the world.”
-Editors Note: Sport 360 and Golfweek contributed to this story