Home team claim the first leg of the inaugural Al Hamra and Yas Links Members Challenge match at the Al Hamra Golf Club

The first leg of the inaugural Al Hamra and Yas Links Members Challenge match at the Al Hamra Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah, took place on Saturday the 19th of May. The home team were clear victors using their local knowledge to overcome the Yas Links team.
 
Leading from the front were Al Hamra’s Director of Golf, Andrew Pilfold and Club Professional  Karl Rowe who managed to defeat Yas Links’s Director of Golf, Tom Rourke and Teaching professional, Craeg Deery 3&2. With 7 of the holes on the front nine won with birdies the match appeared tightly contested until Pilfold managed to blitz the start of the back nine with three straight birdies to distance Al Hamra from the Yas Links pairing.

Yas Link’s members enjoyed some exciting games with Al Hamra having the edge over many of the away pairings in a tightly run match, certainly more so than the final score would suggest! Overall the weekend was thoroughly enjoyed by all, with a beautifully conditioned golf course and fantastic hospitality. During the presentation Tom Rourke, Yas Links Director of Golf, thanked Andrew and his team for the weekend and commented on how the course had improved hugely since his last visit.

This was certainly the general consensus that the Ras Al-Khamaih course is now a bit of a hidden gem and well worth a visit for a weekend getaway.   Both clubs look forward to the return leg of the match which is to be held at Yas Links in late September where the teams will complete the match for the rights to be engraved on the new trophy.