(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Morocco's Maha Haddioui is targeting a top-10 finish at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters this week to safeguard her Ladies European Tour (LET) card for next year. The Casablanca-born 26-year-old is currently ranked 101st on the ISPS Handa Order of Merit, with ‚¬12.016.24 accrued in prize money from 16 events on the continental circuit in 2014 so far.
However, in order to finish inside the first 80 names on the money list and thereby ensure full-card privileges in 2015, Haddioui still needs to bridge the ‚¬8.253.26 financial shortfall to England's Georgina Simpson (in 80th). Haddioui is yet to breach the upper echelons of a tournament leaderboard so far in this calendar year, with her best finish to date being 22nd at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France two months ago.
She really needs to excel then here to avoid going back to Q School, but it's clearly hoped that a back-to-basics approach can reap rewards and just in time too.
"I would like to have a top 10 this week so I don't have to go back to Q School. That's the main goal," Haddioui admitted.
"I'm trying to just focus on the process and the golf course and not think too much about outcomes and results.
"I've been working on my swing and my strategy on the golf course, which I quite well now. I had the chance to come here before the Indian Open, so I did some bits of work on the course and I think top 10 is a good goal for this week." Haddioui understandably feels a burden of expectation whenever she competes here or in Morocco as an Arab golfer and thus the home-grown hope in the field.
Nonetheless, she sees that mantle as more of a performance plus than a prohibitive problem, adding: "There's definitely more pressure on me, but I try to turn it around and think to myself: 'Okay, I'm the only Arab over here and let's just make the best of it and enjoy the week.'
"I try to turn it around and use it as a positive stress, but there's definitely more pressure."
A fair portion of that pressure may seemingly be put on Haddioui by herself and her own ambitions, with the golfer readily conceding that a much-prized tournament win in Dubai or Morocco would mean more to her than anywhere else. "Playing in this tournament is almost as special as playing at home in Morocco because it's an Arab country and I'm the only Arab player on Tour," she explained. "It's very important to me and I really like Dubai, so it's a pretty special place to be competing for me.
"I think about winning here every day. When I'm practising on the putting green and I'm making the putts, I'm like: 'Okay, this is to win in Dubai.'
"It's a little girl's dream and, even if you're 26, you still have a dream to win here or win in Morocco. It's something that's really strong in my heart. I could win any tournament and it would not be the same as winning on Arab soil. That's something I really look forward to."
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