Dubai: Morocco’s Maha Haddioui is dreaming of victory at this week’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters in order to inspire more Arab women to take up golf.
Haddioui, 26, is the only Arab professional in women’s golf, but she hopes to forge a big enough legacy in the game to change that, starting with a first career win this weekend.
“I think about it every day,” said the world number 643. “I’m practicing on the putting green and saying to myself: ‘Okay, this is to win in Dubai’. It’s a little girl’s dream, even if you’re 26 years old, you still have a dream to win here or in Morocco. It’s something that’s really strong in my heart.
“I could win any tournament and it would not be the same as winning on Arab soil. That’s something I really look forward to.”
Haddioui’s best finish in 16 events this season was 15th and she needs a top-10 finish here in order to keep her card, making victory unlikely. But nevertheless she hopes that the Arab world will stand up and take notice.
“When I was growing up, there were no Arab women golfers, I barely thought of it at first because it’s something I had never seen. So maybe young players will be like ‘oh, Maha has done it, I can do it too’.”
Despite the fact Morocco and the UAE have both invested in numerous golf courses to help promote tourism, Haddioui said she wasn’t surprised that Arab women weren’t taking to the game.
“I know there’s going to be more Arab women playing in the future because federations are doing their job now and promoting women’s golf,” she said.
“But it’s a different culture, sometimes it’s hard to give up on school and look outside the box. You would never hear a young [Arab] girl say she wanted to be a tennis player or a golfer, but now you hear that. I think it’s just a matter of time before the Arab world has more athletes and more golfers.”
