Dubai: The UAE junior golf team hit a gross score of 473, seven strokes clear of their nearest rival, to retain their GCC Golf Championship title at Dirab Golf club in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Ahmad Al Qubaisi shot 74, 85 and 75 over three rounds to total 234 and take second place in the individual gross scores, while Ahmad Skaik carded 83, 78 and 78 to total 239 to come third in the individual category. Saeed Al Baloushi shot a first-round 86 but withdrew through illness. Only the best two scores from a three-man team are counted.
“We knew we were the favourites to win but we still had to play well,” said Al Qubaisi. “The whole team did that and we are 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.”
Elsewhere, the UAE senior golf team came fourth in their category with a gross score of 697. They had been second in the standings with five holes remaining before a late slump.
Khalid Yousuf shot three 74s to total 222 and finished third in the individual category after missing out on the play-off for first by a stroke. Rashid Hamoud carded a total 232 and Sohail Al Marzouqi hit 243, while Hassan Al Musharrakh finished with 248. Only the best three scores from the four-man are counted.
“I am happy with the way I played this week,” said Yousuf. “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.”
National team coach Jason Froggatt said: “I would like to personally congratulate the junior team for successfully defending their GCC Golf title in Saudi Arabia. We were 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 junior team 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.”
