UAE golfers emerge winners of Al Ain Tournament

It has been a proud weekend for Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club. Golfers from all around the UAE have enjoyed an action packed 3 days which has solidified the club as the fastest growing resort of its kind in the country.

The event was held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council and Chairman of Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club with the participation of almost 250 golfers including boys, girls, professionals and amateurs.

First event on the card was Friday’s international cup. This was a 4 man team event consisting of 4 players of the same nationality. The UAE team represented by Faris Al Mazroe, Khalid Yousuf, Saif Thabet and Nabil Sharif emerged winners of the Scratch Cup, whilst the South Africa team, led by Chris Potgieter and team mates, Henrich Van Neikerk, Mark Beling and Andre Du Toit Heyns captured the Handicap Cup. The South African second team came as runner-up with the help of their players Vaughan Kitson, Malcom Miller, Carel Nolte and Chris Sinden whereas the International team finished the competition in the third place and the team was represented by Anne McCarthy, Larry Benson, Robert Anderson and Lex Cassiere.

Day 2 was the turn of the stars of the future. Kids from 9 to 18 years old participated in what was to be the first ever order of merit Junior Open at the club. The day started with a kid’s clinic hosted by European Tour Superstar Bradley Dredge. Bradley hit golf balls for 45 minutes and was kind enough to answer any questions the kids had to ask. 31 players started the competition and eventually Philipp Urasch was crowned champion. Philipp’s one over par total of 72 in blustery conditions saw him 3 shots clear of Daniel Hendry of Emirates Golf Club who had to settle for second place. The best performance by a home player came from 16 year old Jim Muirhead Jnr. Jim had a fantastic net score of 67 to ease the prize for the best boys net score of the day. Katy Rutherford produced a life’s best score of 74 to take the Girls best Gross prize of the day whilst Boushra Daille emerged the Girls Net winner.

Directly after the junior open came the well publicized Challenge match. Bradley Dredge teamed up with ladies golf superstar Elisabeth Esterl were up against Peter Whiteford of the European Tour and the UAE’s best PGA professional Simon Payne. Bradley and Liz proved too much for the all male pairing and eventually won at the 17th hole in what was a truly memorable match for the scores of spectators.  

The weekend’s events climaxed of Sunday in the Pro-Am competition. 76 players teed off at 10:30 all chasing the winner’s trophy. Fittingly Bradley Dredge, Lindsay Brown, Lex Cassiere, and Scott Cotter won the title, while Peter Whiteford, Sharon Hall, Saleh Al Ameri, and Aziz Azeem bagged second position. Malcolm Young, Andrew Burrow, Andrew Scanlan and Colin Graham came in the third place.

At the end of the tournament, Bradley Dredge was kind enough to distribute the prizes and wrap up a historical weekend for the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club.