JAGA Caps Off UAE Golf Season as Sood & Ahmed Win Clutch Tour Invites

(Al Ain, UAE) – On May 23-25, 2025, the Junior Asian Golf Academy (JAGA) and the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) cohosted the JAGA International Amateur Open at Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club. Over 30 amateur golfers took to the course with the opportunity to win an invitation to the upcoming UAE Clutch Tour event later this year. Coming out on top were Ananyaa Sood and Rayan Ahmed.

Over the weekend that saw temperatures above 50°C, JAGA and the EGF highlighted the upcoming campus, which is expected to open in Al Ain during September. The upcoming academy boarding school will be the home and training center of the UAE National Golf Team. JAGA provides the solution for student athletes to receive a high school diploma while incorporating a full-time golf training program known as the JAGA-WAY.  The JAGA-Way is a progression system similar to the martial arts ‘belt color’ model. Students are assessed regularly and progress through the system, ultimately striving to become a Black Belt, which means they are college-ready.

The JAGA International Amateur Open consisted of girls and boys aged 13 to 23. Winning the U13 Girls Division was Anushka Gupta. In the U15 Girls Division, the Best Net award was given to Sofia Zbiri, while Ayesha Gupta won the Runner-Up, and Ananyaa Sood was the Division Winner.

In the U18 Girls Division, Anuradha Chaudhuri was the Winner. For the U23 Ladies Division, Hannah Alan was the Best Net Winner. Lara ElChaib was the Runner-Up, and Jamie Camero was the Winner.

Luke Brown won the Best Net in the U13 Division, while Sebastian Cook was the Runner-Up and Sevn Laurijsen was the Winner. In the U15 Boys Division,n Sebastian Sales won the Best Net. Ralf Nuretdinov won the Runner-Up, and Alexander Rushika was the Winner.

For the U18 Boys Division, Abdulla Salman was the Best Net Winner. Mohammad Skaik was the Runner-Up, and Rayan Ahmad was the Division Winner.  Jonathan Selvaraj was the Winner, and Arav Shaw was the Runner-Up of the U23 Male Division.

The event that qualified for WAGR points came down to the Overall Results, where all Divisions were combined for an overall girls’ and boys’ winner. Rayan Ahmed won the Boys’ Overall award. He gained control of the tournament during the second round, firing an impressive 66, 5 under par. Rayan rode that momentum to the victory, shooting a 203, 7 under par for the event.

In the Girls Division, Ananyaa Sood shot rounds of 67-67-71 for a 205, 5 under par victory. This was 8 shots clear of the Runner-Up.  Both Ananyaa and Rayan will earn invites to the upcoming UAE Clutch Tour event later in the year.

Following the event, JAGA Cofounder, John Laroche, had this to say, “As we get one step closer to opening our campus in the UAE, this past weekend was a true celebration of the young talent that this region has to offer. Our goal is to develop the sport while providing an elite student athlete pathway for all inspiring golfers. Thank you to our partners and to the Emirates Golf Federation for their continued support. We look forward to following these young boys and girls on their journey”.

To find out more information on JAGA and its solutions, please contact Richa Siddharth, JAGA UAE General Manager at richa@j-aga.com or visit the website at  www.j-aga.com.