UAE Golf Team are crowned GCC Golf Champions on home soil in Dubai
UAE turned in an inspired performance to win the GCC Golf Championship for the first time in the history of the regional event at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club on Wednesday.
The UAE team closed with a team score of a gross 229 for a total of 676 to beat their nearest challengers Qatar by a good 17 shots while Bahrain, who had won every edition of the championship since its inception 16 years ago, had to settle for a third place on a team score of 694.
The UAE held sway in the championship right from the start and never felt threatened by any team. Ahmed Al Musharrekh, who contributed to the team’s score in each of the three rounds, iced the cake when he won the individual championship as well with a 54-hole gross total of 218, well ahead of Bahrain’s Nasser Yaccob Saleh (224) and fellow team-mate Khalid Yousuf (225).
The UAE team have already won the team and individual gold medals in the recent Arab Games held in Doha, and this resounding win in the GCC Championship only confirmed their credentials as the number one team in the Arab world.
Starting the final day’s a good 17 strokes ahead of Bahrain, UAE needed some good scores from Al Musharrekh, who shot a 77, Yousuf (77) and Sohail Marzouqi (75) to seal a memorable victory.
Qatar produced the day’s best team score (225), but it was not good enough to threaten the UAE team, though it helped them relegate Bahrain to the third place.
Shaikh Fahim bin Sultan Qasimi, chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation, congratulated the team on it’s what he called “a fantastic victory.”
“The boys have been working hard for a long time and the victory clearly reflects on the rising standards of the game in the UAE. I am really proud of their achievements. Every member of the team played a role, especially Ahmed who did really well to add the individual GCC championship to his Arab Games gold medal.”
Final results:
UAE gross 676 (day one 226, day two 221, day three 229),
2. Qatar 693 (240, 228, 225),
3. Bahrain 694 (226, 238, 230),
4. Saudi Arabia 752,
5. Oman 763,
6. Kuwait 833
Individual championship:
1. Ahmed Al Musharrekh (UAE) gross 218 (70, 71, 77),
2. Nasser Yacoob Saleh 224 (70, 80, 74),
3. Khalid Yousuf (UAE) 225 (76, 72, 77).
