Bogey-free Jones rekindles his love affair with Madinaty Golf Club
September 23: England’s Ben Jones, whose only professional win came at a 2023 Mena Golf Tour event at Madinaty Golf Club, showed his love for the spectacular Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course in New Cairo once again as he opened a two-shot lead in the Egypt Golf Series 13.
In Wednesday’s opening round, the man from Northampton shot eight birdies and did not give back a single shot to the golf course in a round of eight-under par 62.
Pakistan’s Aadam Syed and Korean Jaeil Kim were chasing Jones at 64, while Saudi Arabia’s Faisal Salhab, Laos’ Thammasack Bouahom, Denmark’s August Thor Host and the Indonesian duo of Jonathan Wijono and Kevin Akbar made for an eclectic group a further shot behind at 65.
The 26-year-old Jones started from the 10th tee and reached 6-under through 10 holes, thanks to a particularly productive stretch of holes from the 15th to first, where he made four birdies, including three straight gains from the 17th to the first hole. On his back nine, he picked up further shots on the fifth and seventh.
“I really enjoyed being out on the course again, and everything just went smoothly today,” said Jones.
“I’ve played the golf course quite a few times now. I’ve had some success around here before, and then we played here early in the year when I finished fourth. So, I don’t know really, but I just seem to always play okay around here.”
Aadam Syed of Pakistan. Picture by Jason Butler/Asian Tour
“I started on the 10th and I birdied the first hole, which was a nice little settler. And then just kept hitting good shots. Didn’t hole everything that I looked at, but it was rolling well today. Five-under for my first nine, and the front nine seemed quite easy from there on. I actually missed a couple coming in, so I felt my ball striking was really very good today.”
Syed, who is hoping to follow in the footsteps of countryman Ahmed Baig and graduate to the main tour, made a solitary bogey on the long par-4 16th hole. However, the UK-based player made amends with birdies on the 17th and 18th for his 64.
“It was really good today. I drove the ball well and putted well, which always helps. I could have been a little bit better with my irons, but overall, very happy,” said the 25-year-old resident of Hayes, who is currently 86th in the Order of Merit.
“The birdie on the 17th felt very good after the bogey on the 16th. I barely carried the water with my three-wood second shot and then made a good up-and-down.
“Ahmed’s absolutely an influence. He played the ADT a couple of years ago and had a great year and got himself promoted. That kind of brought the pathway to light and showed that it was possible. It was very inspiring to see him and how he’s moving on and progressing with his game. The ADT helped him develop into the player he is. So, I thought, why not give it a go for myself?”
Faisal Salhab of Saudi Arabia.
Kim, who finished sixth in Indonesia last month and tied 11th in ADT HCT Open, said he felt lucky with his bogey-free round.
“I hit my irons and putted well, but I feel a little bit lucky. I made two long putts for par on the fourth and 16th holes. They must be about 10 feet,” said Kim, who is hoping to improve this week from his 25th place in the ADT Order of Merit.
“The best birdie of the day was the one I made on the 10th hole. I hit my wedge from 77 yards for a tap-in birdie.”
Salhab was delighted his form was trending in the right direction, especially before the season-ending Aramco Invitational in his home country.
“I’ve always believed that I have a good game. It’s just starting to come out. I am learning how to play golf and not just think about the swing. Grant, my coach, has been fantastic and we are doing a lot of good work with other members of my team. And it’s good for all of us to see some good results.
“I’m really looking forward to Aramco Invitational. I look forward to it every year. The thought process is just do whatever I can, do what I can control, play as well as I can. Aramco is a big event, and there’s a lot of points and money. I really want to earn a card and play on the ADT, and that’s the goal.”
Egypt Golf Series 13, co-sanctioned by the Egyptian Golf Federation, is the first of back-to-back Asian Development Tour events at Madinaty Golf Club.
Indonesian Kevin Akbar capitalised on home advantage and huge local support to become the first player from his country to win the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament today.
He closed with a fine nine-under-par 63 at Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) – his home course in south-west Jakarta – to finish on 25-under and win by two from Singapore’s James Leow and Khavish Varadan from Malaysia.
Like Akbar, Leow charge through on the final day of the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event with an equally impressive 62, while Varadan shot 65 – helping to consolidate his lead at the top of the ADT Order of Merit.
Akbar began the day two shots behind the leader Nathan Han from the United States but took control with a blistering six-under-par from nine, thanks to an eagle and four birdies. He went on to birdie 11, 12 and 13, dropped his only shot of the day on 14 before making an up-and-down on the par-five 18th for his eighth birdie of the day.
It’s his second win on the ADT, having won the Indonesian Pro-Am two years ago. His countryman Naraajie Ramadhanputra is the only other Indonesian to win on the ADT, with three titles to his name.
Kevin Akbar.
“It means a lot,” said the 28-year-old. “I mean, I really wanted to win this one, and finally, it came through.
“Super special to win on my home course. I don’t know what to say. I still can’t believe it. And with the big crowds here it means so much. You know, I don’t know why, but I play better when the crowd is huge. So yeah, it helped me a lot today.”
It was an impressive win for a player who turned professional in 2019 and has been playing mainly on the ADT and his local tour. He has played in handful of Asian Tour events, most noticeably tying for seventh in his national open in 2025.
Some content creation also help him today as on his Instagram page all week he was posting about how he wanted to shoot six under on the front nine.
He said: “I made that content as it’s hard to play six under. I don’t know why but today I played six under. You know, I really enjoyed the day.”
He moved into eighth place on the Merit list, ideally positioned as the top-10 at the end of the season earn Asian Tour cards for next year.
For Leow it is yet another encouraging result. Last year he won the Aramco Invitational, the ADT’s season-ender in Saudi Arabia, which helped him finish in fourth place on the Merit list, securing his Asian Tour card for this year.
He stormed through over the closing stages making birdie on 15, 16 and 17 before eagling the last.
James Leow.
The former Arizona state college star said: “Yeah, it was really nice. I think I was building a lot of momentum into the final round. It kind of brings back a bit the of Aramco vibes because before the final round there, I was five shots back, and I was in that same exact position today.”
For Varadan it was yet another impressive result. He won the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters in March in a play-off, having lost the season-opening PKNS Selangor Masters in extra time, and has recorded two other top five finished.
He leads the Merit list with winnings of US$64,883, from Italy’s Michele Ortolani, on US$49,718. Like Leow, Varadan also has an Asian Tour card this year having successfully passed through the Qualifying School.
Defending champion Matt Killen from England signed off with a 67 to tie for fourth with overnight leader Han, who fired a 68.
Akbar’s winning total of 25-under matched Killen’s total last year and continued the tournament’s tradition of a different nationality winning every year.
Killen was attempting to become the first player to defend the title since its launch in 2014.
Indonesian golf fans got just what they wanted on the opening day of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament today when Kevin Akbar [main picture], one of the country’s leading players, fired a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 at Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) to share the lead with England’s Matt Killen – the defending champion.
Akbar, inspired by playing on his home course, made eight birdies, including five in the last seven on the second nine, while Killen, who won at this venue last year with a stunning winning total of 25-under, picked up where he left off with another fine round consisting of nine birdies and one bogey.
They lead the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event by one from Canadian Henry Lee and another Englishman Finlay Mason, after they returned 65s.
India’s Khalin Joshi and Tanapat Pichaikool from Thailand are next best placed following 66s, in the US$150,000 event which is one of the Tour’s most lucrative.
Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan, the ADT Order of Merit leader, shot a 71 and has work to do sitting in a tie for 48th.
Akbar has triumphed once before on the ADT at the Indonesian Pro-Am in 2023. He tied for sixth in that event last week, where China’s Andi Xu marched to victory.
“Last week was good preparation and today feels pretty amazing,” said Akbar.
“Actually, this is my personal best at BSD. Everything went well. I will take it. I know the course a little bit more than others. I know where to miss, I know the greens.”
Matt Killen.
He is currently 46th on the Merit list, while Killen sits in 14th place – so both are in need of strong weeks in order to close in on the top-10 which secures them Asian Tour cards for next year.
Said Killen: “It was tough. I know the score doesn’t show that, but the wind was really tough out there, it was changing every 10 seconds.
“It was tough to judge, but I did it pretty well and holed a couple of putts when I needed to. It felt stressful and stress free at the same time.
“It’s great being back. I knew I would feel great when I got here, it’s a lovely course. We will see what happens.”
Last week’s champion Xu returned a 70.
This week marks the ADT’s second visit of the season to Indonesia, it is the 11th edition of the tournament, and the 12th stop of the season. Remarkably, a different nationality has won every edition of the tournament.
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