On September 5th – 8th, the top three United Arab Emirates (UAE) National amateur golfers will be competing in the World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) in Dublin, Ireland. The UAE Team will be composed of Khalid Yousuf, Ahmed Skiak, and Saif Thabet.
The WATC or also known as the Eisenhower Trophy is conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF) and is the most prestigious team championship in amateur golf. The event is held every two years and brings together golfers from all geographical zones, which include the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe – Africa. The format is simple, the best two scores from teams of two or three players are calculated every 18 holes of stroke play. After four rounds or 72-holes, the team with the best score (or the lowest amount of stokes) are the winners.
The WATC or also known as the Eisenhower Trophy is conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF) and is the most prestigious team championship in amateur golf. The event is held every two years and brings together golfers from all geographical zones, which include the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe – Africa. The format is simple, the best two scores from teams of two or three players are calculated every 18 holes of stroke play. After four rounds or 72-holes, the team with the best score (or the lowest amount of stokes) are the winners.
The 2018 WATC will take place at Carton House on the O’Meara and Montgomerie designed courses that are considered some of the best courses in Ireland. Over the past six months, the UAE National Golf Team has been preparing for the WATC by utilizing the practice facilities at the European Tour Performance Institute at Jumeirah Golf Estates while hosting a number of team qualifiers in order to pick the top players to represent the UAE.
National Team Captain Khalid Yousuf had this to say about the WATC. “This event not only allows me but the rest of the UAE National golf program the opportunity to compete at the highest level against some the games future stars”.
The WATC has seen players to the liking of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory Mcllroy, Ricky Fowler, Luke Donald and many more.
“This gives our team the chance to meet other golfers from around the world while making connections with other federations that we can use to help develop our program in the UAE”, Yousuf added.
Yousuf is playing in his record-setting 7th WATC. He played in his first WATC in 2004 in Puerto Rico when he was 14 years old.
The UAE will have their work cut out for them with top nations such as the United States of America, Australia, Great Britain, and Japan in the field. With the iconic event making its way back to Ireland for the first time since being played at St. Andrews in 1958 it will be a true test for any nation.
To follow the action and to get updates results head to the IGF website at www.igfgolf.org
