(Dubai, UAE) – In honour of the 45^th United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Day the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) opened the 2016 – 2017 golf season by hosting the 2016 EGF National Day Medal at The Track – Meydan on Saturday, December 3, 2016.

This first National EGF event of 2016 – 2017 season saw some great scores. Coming out on top and winning the event with a Stableford Score of 38 points was Mahmood Skaik.

The Runner-Up was Humaid Al Mazroua with 36 points. Rounding out the top three coming in Third Place was Rashid Al Jarwan with a total of 34 Stableford points.

The Best Gross Award went to Mohammed Al Hajeri who shot a 4-over-par, 76. Mohammed had a solid round shooting a 39 front nine a 37 back nine.

Awards were also given based on handicap with an A-Division (0-14 handicap) and B-Division (14-24 handicap) winners. Winning the A-Division Prize was Sultan Al Ali with 30 Stableford Points. Shawqi Sajwani won the Division-B prize with 34 Stableford Points.

The event hosted a Junior Division with 6 competitors. Winning her first event was Alia Al Emadi with 39 Stableford points. The Runner-Up was the brother of Alia, Rashid Al Emadi with 38 points and the Third Place prize went to Reema Al Heloo with 32 points.

During the event there were a number of On Course Challenges up for grabs. Taking home the Adult Longest Drive Award was Mohammed Al Hajeri. Winning the Adult Nearest to the Pin Award was Abdulla Al Marzooqi. The winner of the Junior Longest Drive Award was Alia Al Emadi. Wrapping up the On Course Challenges, Reema Al Heloo won the Junior Nearest to the Pin Award.

At the award presentation, the EGF took time out to recognize the 45^th UAE National Day. Being that the EGF is under the guidance of the Ministry of General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, this event was a great opportunity to celebrate this holiday.

The first UAE National Monthly Medal of the 2016 – 2017 golf season will take place on December 31^st at Al Zorah Golf Club. To stay up to date EGF and the UAE National Golf Teams follow the Emirates Golf Federation on social media and at www.egfgolf.com.

(Muscat, Oman) – On November 9 – 12, 2016 the Oman Golf Committee hosted the 36^th Arab Golf Championship in Muscat, Oman at the Ghala Golf Club. Winning the Gold Medal for 2016 was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) finished in 6^th Place.

This is the first time that the Sultanate of Oman is hosting the Arab Golf Championship. Staged annually, rotating amongst the members of the Arab Golf Federation, this 72-hole stroke play championship will see the best golfers in the Arab world.

Representing the UAE was Rashid Hamood, Khalid Yousuf, Saif Thabet, and Sohail Al Marzouqi. The UAE finished in 6^th Place with a team score of 937.

Leading the way for Team UAE was Rashid Hamood. Hamood shot rounds of 75-78-73-81 for a championship total of 307. Hamood finished in 9^th Place in the Individual Category.

Khalid Yousuf finished Tied for 10^th Place in the Individual Category with rounds of 74-73-79-83 for a total of 309.

Finishing in 24^th Place in the Individual Category shooting rounds of 80-81-81-70 for a total of 321 was Saif Thabet.

Rounding off Team UAE was Sohail Al Marzouqi coming in 40^th Place in the Individual Category with rounds of 91-85-81-83 for a total of 340.

The 36^th Arab Golf Championship hosted 11 different countries with over 60 players representing their home nations.

Winning the Gold Medal in the Team and Individual Categories was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had a team score of 887. Leading the way for Saudi Arabia was Khalid Attieh with rounds of 74-74-74-69 for a championship total of 291.

Coming is Second Place in the Team Category was Morocco with a team score 903. Finishing in Third Place was Qatar with a team score of 916.

Over the next two months the UAE National Golf Team will be playing in the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Order of Merit as well as training for the upcoming GGC Golf Championships that will take place early 2017.

Follow the EGF on social media and on the EGF website to receive updates and news on UAE Golf.

(Cairo, Egypt) – On October 20^th – 22^nd, 2016 the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Junior and Ladies National Golf Teams competed in 2016 Junior & Ladies Arab Golf Championship at Palm Hills Golf Course. Finishing with Gold Medals in two out of the three represented divisions was Team Morocco. The UAE Ladies Team finished in Fourth Place.

The 17^th edition of Junior Arab Golf Championship and the 8^th edition of Ladies Arab Golf Championship, under the Arab Golf Federation, hosted 8 different countries with over 50 players.

Morocco won Gold in both the 15 & Under and Ladies Divisions and Silver in the 18 & Under Division. Tunisia won the Gold in the 18 & Under Division and Silver in the 15 & Under and Ladies Divisions. The closest out come came in the 15 & Under Division where Morocco won by two strokes.

Having the strongest finish for UAE was the UAE Ladies Team. Made up of Reema Al Heloo, Hamada Al Suwaidi, and Tara Al Marzooqi the Ladies finished in Fourth Place with a team score of 521. Leading the way in the Individual Category for the UAE Ladies was Reema Al Heloo with rounds of 87-84-89 for an event total of 260.

The UAE 18 & Under Team was made up of Mohamed Al Hajeri, Saeed Al Balooshi, and Mohammed Abdulla Saeed. The boys finished in Seventh Placed in the Team Category with a score of 523. Mohamed Al Hajeri led the way with rounds of 87-82-87 for a total of 256.

The UAE 15 & Under Team was made up of Rashid Al Emadi, Obaid Al Heloo, and Khalid Al Mutawa. The team placed seventh with a score of 564. Top player for the UAE in the 15 & Under Division was Rashid Al Emadi with rounds of 95-89-89 for a total of 273.

In the Individual Categories, Suad Al Sharif of Saudi Arabia won the Gold in the 18 & Under Division with rounds of 79-76-68 for a championship total of 223. Shergo Kurdi of Jordan won the Gold in the 15 & Under with scores of 74-70-75 for a 219 total and in the Ladies Division, Belmati Lina of Morocco won the Gold with rounds of 73-69-78 for a total of 220.

Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Emirates Golf Federation and National Team Manager had this to say after the Championship, “The Emirates Golf Federation is proud to have participated in this event. This event always shows the direction and strategy of the Arab Golf Federation in developing golf across the region. The UAE Teams will build on this event and look forward to the upcoming GCC Golf Championships.”

(DUBAI, UAE) –  Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello took some time out from his busy globe-trotting schedule to put something back into a game that has given him so much when he delighted children at the Sheikh Rashid School for Boys in Dubai with a golf lesson earlier today (Wednesday).

 

He’s been hitting the heights all season but the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner, who hasn’t missed a cut in competitive golf for more than a year, is known as one of the most down to earth and good-natured players on the European Tour and he proved it by passing on some of his knowledge to the eager schoolchildren during some down time in the emirate he calls his ‘second home.’

“Just watching the kids smile really makes my day! I’m very happy to be given the opportunity to be here and watch the kids play the game for the very first time and to see how excited they are and how they interact with their classmates,” said the Spaniard who spent over an hour teaching the enthralled pupils the basics of the game as part of an initiative by the Emirates Golf Federation supported by the European Tour and DP World which will see over 6,000 schoolchildren given ‘introduction to golf’ lessons by the end of the year.

“I think this initiative is a great idea in getting golf into the PE classes. This misconception that golf is for old men and non-athletic people is blown out of the way with an initiative like this. If the schools have the space and capacity to implement this initiative, then I think they should go for it. It will do lots of good for the sport and in this region.”

Adel Zarouni, Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation said: “We aim to spread the game of golf into schools in the UAE attracting young boys who in future will hopefully be very good golfers. With kids, you need something to inspire them, something to give them that extra push. Golf is not a big sport within the UAE; it’s mostly played by expats here, so it’s not spread at all in the schools. But this is a way for us to break through and naturally they like Rafa, he’s an inspiration for a lot of people. The most important thing is that it opens up the doors for us to go to these schools because the schools want a serious initiative and you can’t find somebody bigger than a Ryder Cup player. I think Rafa is helping us a lot to get through to the schools and reach the kids.”

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said: “Having Ryder Cup stars like Rafa here is what we’ve been missing before. The EGF, European Tour and DP World have done great work to involve kids but now we are getting parents engaged and professionals involved. The kids might not know the professional but the parents certainly will.”

Cabrera Bello endeared himself to golf fans around the world with an inspiring Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota earlier this month, scoring two and a half points from three and forming a devastating partnership alongside fellow countryman Sergio Garcia.

Europe may have lost the biennial contest against the USA for the first time in eight years but Cabrera Bello, who also represented Spain in the Olympic Games this summer, emerged as one of the shining lights of Darren Clarke’s European Team.

“It was probably the best week in my career! I would trade my two wins on the European Tour for a win in The Ryder Cup,” he said. “The team went to the tournament as friends before but our bond got even stronger after the tournament. We fought as hard as we could and we gave it all for the captain, for the team and for Europe. Obviously we were disappointed that we didn’t win but personally I was pleased with my performance and contribution to the team. As a Ryder Cup rookie I can say that the experience itself is greater than winning or losing.

The schedule of a top level golfer is such a hectic and exhilarating one and the big tournaments are set to continue coming thick and fast for Cabrera Bello over the coming weeks. He’s off to play on the US PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur next week and then it’s back on to the European Tour for the Final Series of the Race to Dubai – he’s currently in fifth place in the rankings – which culminates in the US$8 million season-ending DP World Tour Championship taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 November.

 

“I’ve got myself into a position this season where if I win one of those events I will be contending for the Race to Dubai title. There are four very big events coming up and I will play in all four of them to give myself the best possible chance.

“I’m really looking forward it and if I could end the season with victory at the DP World Tour Championship it would be like double icing on the cake for me.”

He’s got a career that most people can only dream of but in giving up his time to introduce the game to a new generation in Dubai, Cabrera Bello might just have lit the fuse that will help one of them follow in his footsteps.

Drafted by DPWTC / Edited by EGF

(Riviera Maya, Mexico) – On September 21^st – 24^th, 2016 the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Golf Team competed in the 30^th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) – Eisenhower Trophy. The 2016 WATC – Eisenhower Trophy took place in Riviera Maya, Mexico at the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.

The WATC is the most prestigious Amateur Golf Championship in the world. The format of the WATC is as follows – Each team has two or three players play four rounds, of 18 holes, of stroke play. In each round, the total of two lowest scores from each team creates the team score for that round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.

With over 70 teams represented, this was one of the largest fields in the WATC – Eisenhower Trophy’s history. Representing the UAE National Golf Team was Ahmed Skaik, Rashid Hamood, and Saif Thabet. The UAE National Golf Team finished in 65^th Place.

Playing in his first WATC – Eisenhower Trophy and leading the UAE National Golf Team was Saif Thabet. Thabet shot rounds of 86-78-80-78 for a championship total of 322, 36-over-par. Thabet placed tied for 174^h in the Individual Category.

Finishing two stokes behind Thabet was UAE youngster Ahmad Skaik. After a good start shooting a 78 on the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Course, Skaik’s last three rounds were 82-81-83 for a total of 324, 38-over-par. Skaik finished tied for 182^nd in the Individual Category.

Rashid Hamood, the Assistant Golf Experience Manager at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, had a hard time finding consistency all championship with rounds of 80-89-81-88 for a total of 338, 52-over-par. Rashid finished in 195^th in the Individual Category.

The UAE National Golf Team will be looking to build on these results in the near future. With a number of regional championships and the UAE golf season around the corner the National Teams are expected to play a lot of completive golf.

Winning the 2016 WATC – Eisenhower Trophy was Australia. Australia had a very impressive championship finishing 19 strokes better than the Second Place team. This was Australia’s 4^th time winning the WATC – Eisenhower Trophy finishing 38-under-par. Australia also had the 1^st and 2^nd Place winners in the individual category with scores of 17-under-par and 15-under-par for the four rounds. England placed second and Austria and Ireland finished tied for Third Place.

UAE National Golf Team Coach, Greg Holmes had this to say after the event. “Every year the standard and competition level of golf at this event continues to get better. The more our players play and experience golf like this, the more the players can see how much work is needed to reach the top of their game”.

The UAE Team was also accompanied by, Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi, Emirates Golf Federation Secretary General, and UAE National Team Manager. “The WATC – Eisenhower Trophy is always an honor to compete in. The UAE National Teams will now focus on upcoming regional events in the GGC Golf Championships and Arab Golf Championships”, said Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi.

The UAE National Senior Golf Team will be back in action on November 7^th – 13^th, 2016 the Arab Golf Championship in Oman. Before this event, the Nationals Ladies, 18 & Under, and 15 & Under Golf Teams will be in action on October 17^th – 22^nd, 2016 in Egypt.

To see the full results from the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) – Eisenhower Trophy please visit the International Golf Federation website at www.igfgolf.org