UAE Junior National Golf Team Wins the Gold at the 2014 GCC Golf Championship

The United Arab of Emirates (UAE) National Teams traveled to Dirab Golf and Country Club in Saudi Arabia to defend their GCC Golf Championship Junior Title.

Looking to make it back to the top was the Senior Team after winning the championship in 2012.  With teams from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain the UAE National Teams, had their work cut out for them at the 18th GCC Golf Championship.

The UAE National Teams arrived in Saudi Arabia on February 25, 2014, giving them adequate time to practice and get use to their surroundings before the competition began. After two solid days of practice the National Teams set the tone early in round one as the Junior Team lead the way in their division, shooting a gross score of 157 and net score of 148. The Senior Team was in third place with a gross score of 231 and net score of 226 after the first round. Both Abdulla Al Qubaisi  of the Junior Team and Khalid Yousuf of the Senior Team shot opening rounds of 74, 2-over par.

The second round was much of the same as both teams continued to play strong. The Junior Team remained in first place as the Senior Team slipped one spot into fourth place. Going into the final round of the championship the National Teams were mentally strong and up to the pressure. Finishing strong, the Junior Team captured the Gold in the team gross category and won back-to-back championships at the GCC Golf Championship.  The Senior Team fought hard but fell short, taking the forth place.

Representing the Senior Team for the 2014 GCC Golf Championship was Khalid Yousef (Dubai, UAE) Sohail Al Marzouqi (Dubai, UAE), Rashid Hamood (Dubai, UAE), and Hassan Al Musharrekh (Sharjah, UAE). The Junior Team was composed of Abdulla Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi, UAE), Ahmad Skaik (Dubai, UAE), and Saeed Al Balooshi (Dubai, UAE).

The UAE Junior Team stole the show and the weekend as the young gentleman won the prominent status of back-to-back titles for the UAE in the team gross category. The Junior Team won by dominating 7 strokes. Abdulla Al Qubaisi shot rounds of 74-85-75 for an event total of 234, gross score. Abdulla won the second place prize in the individual gross category. Follow Abdulla’s lead was Ahmad Skaik, Ahmad shot rounds of 83-78-78 for a championship total of 239. Ahmad took the third place award for the individual gross category. Saeed Al Balooshi shot a first round of 86, net score. After battling with an illness Saeed took a medical  withdraw for the last two rounds but was still in attendance to support his team.

Abdulla Al Qubaisi commented, “We knew we were the favorites to win but will still had a play well, the whole team did that and we all very pleased to get the job done, we’ve all put a lot of hard work in over the last few weeks and this is our reward. We look forward to heading back to Saudi Arabia later this year for the Pan Arab Championships”
Coming in fourth place in the team gross category, the UAE Senior Team battled hard. It was a tough event for the Senior Team as the ball didn’t seem to roll in their favor. Only missing the top-3 by three strokes the team will use this experience and build on this event for future championships. Leading the Senior Team and winning third place in the individual gross category was Khalid Yousef. Khalid had three consecutive rounds of 74 for a gross total of 222. Khalid had a solid final round and missed going to the individual playoff by only one stroke. Rashid Hamood had an event gross total of 232, Sohail Al Marzouqi had a gross total of 243, and Hassan Al Musharreckh finished with a gross score of 248.

Khalid Yousef commented, “I am happy with the way I played this week. Finishing third was both good and bad for me personally. The fact that I played so consistently throughout the week was definitely a positive. The only negative was the fact that I lost out on first place by one shot; the fact that I bogeyed three of the last four holes on the third day, makes it all the more annoying. However, it was a successful tournament and gives me a good boost of confidence going into the Pan Arab Championship which will also be held in Saudi Arabia.”

With an inspiring weekend of golf and strong competition at the 18th GCC Golf Championship the UAE National Teams proved that by applying hard work and dedication, goals can be reached. This prestigious event is always a major opportunity to showcase golf not only in the UAE but across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). 

Jason Froggatt, National Team Coach commented, “I would like to personally congratulate the junior team for successfully defending their GCC Golf title in Saudi, up against some new players from other countries and with the introduction of one of our development juniors they carried themselves very well. We went with a job to do and clearly did that and reset the benchmark as the best juniors within the GCC.  These gentlemen all deserve this after putting in a lot of hard work both technically and physically. I’m sure they can build on this with forthcoming events within this season and with international events coming up later this year” 

Photo Caption – Victorious Junior team at prize presentation