England’s Joe Heraty has taken the lead following Round 01 of the 2019 Abu Dhabi Pro-Am Presented by Troon Golf with an opening round of 69 (-3).

The opening round of the Pro-Am took place on the Gary Player-designed Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, UAE, where 18 Professionals battled the breeze coming in from the Arabian Gulf.

Heraty [pictured, left], having started his round on hole 10, took advantage of the opening downwind holes producing four birdies and a bogey, before scoring nine steady pars on his second nine for a total round of three-under par.

“It was a pretty solid round. Tee-to-green was really good…I think I only missed one green so in general it was solid today and I kept it under control,” said the Euro Pro Tour Member. “The greens were superb, it was playing long, windy and I thought it was a good test of golf.”

Only one stroke back is PGA of Austria Professional, Uli Weinhandl, and Alps Tour Member, Ben Wheeler (England), who share second place at two-under par (70). Whilst in tied-fourth, PGA of GB&I Professionals, Peter Appleyard and Richard Wallis, each finished their rounds at level-par (72).

“It’s my first time here and I really enjoyed it. It’s a fantastic course with fantastic surroundings,” said Weinhandl. “It was not easy with the wind, but I think we shot seven-under as a team. I am not sure where we are standing, but they did a good job and it was good fun, and that is what it is all about.”

In the team category, Team Busher [pictured above], led by PGA of GB&I Professional, Robbie Busher, took the lead with an opening round of 84 stableford points (-12), followed by fellow PGA of GB&I Professional, Chris Gane, and his team with 81 stableford points (-9).

In tied third position, Teams Weinhandl, Herarty and Wallis all scored 79 stableford points (-7), but with a completely new course set-up planned for Round 02, anything can still happen.

For Full Round 01 Scores Visit https://eur.pe/2019AbuDhabi

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For more information about the 2019 Abu Dhabi Pro-Am Presented by Troon Golf, visit the Tournament Hub Page (https://eur.pe/2019AbuDhabi), follow @PGAsofEurope and search #AbuDhabiProAm on Twitter, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

To find out more about Abu Dhabi Golf Club visit www.adgolfclub.com, and to find out more about Saadiyat Beach Golf Club visit www.sbgolfclub.ae.