By Scott Grayston
Thanks to the exceptional work of the Emirates Golf Federation, the UAE National Golf Team have progressed to become the ‘strongest it’s ever been’ according to their leading star Ahmad Skaik whom’s having the best season of his career with four victories to his name.
The 22 year old said: “I think now our UAE team with me, Khalid Yousef, Saif Thabet and Abdalla Al Qubasis or another player, we can have a very good side for the Pan Arab Championship, the GCC Golf Championship and the Eisenhower Trophy. I feel the UAE team is the strongest it’s ever been.”
On the EGF Order of Merit this season, Skaik is in second place with two tournaments remaining, Yousuf is in 22nd and Thabet is 37th which proves the quality of the players who are competing against the likes of Josh Hill, Toby Bishop and Arjun Gupta in most tournaments. Skaik came out on top last month in the Trump Men’s Open beating Bishop in a playoff so is in fine form shooting low scores week in, week out. The Emirati’s in tremendous form. The week after his voctory at the Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, he went a career-best 6-under par in the second round of the Saadiyat Men’s Open en-route to finishing runner-up.
Skaik’s coach Joe Marshall, who works at the Claude Harmon Performance Academy, works with many of the UAE Nationals and has seen how far they’ve developed over the years. “It’s very impressive how well the UAE Nationals are progressing in golf,” says Marshall. “We’ve had quite a few local golfers come down to the Academy recently which is great to see. If they follow Ahmad Skaik’s lead and work ethic, he’s a great role model for them and that will give them a chance to do well.”
With the help of captain Yousuf’s experience alongside the flourishing talent of his team-mates, we expect to see the National Team to improve on their previous results when they compete against other countries later in the year.
The EGF’s National Junior Development Programme is proving to be a success as well so long may the UAE golfers thrive in the sport.
