Dubai: The UAE women’s team finished second in their first appearance at the GCC Golf Championships in Kuwait last week with a gross total of 562.
Rabab Al Haj spearheaded the campaign by finishing third in the individual gross category with rounds of 87, 91, 93 to total 271. Reema Al Heloo finished fourth with 94, 102, 101, to total 297, and Tara Al Marzouqi carded 105, 96, 104 for 305.
The UAE also sent a senior and Under-18 men’s team. The seniors finished fifth with Rashid Hamoud leading the way with rounds of 78, 73, 85, 80 totalling 316. Abdullah Al Musharrakh shot 90, 77, 85, 78 for 330 and Hassan Al Musharrakh carded 91, 83, 88, 88 for 350.
The Under-18s final position wasn’t announced by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) but Abdullah Al Qubaisi finished third in the individual gross category with rounds of 75, 73, 82 to total 230. Mohammad Al Hajeri shot 86, 88, 92 for 266 and Mohammad Saeed Abdullah carded 112, 103, 114 for 329.
UAE national team coach Greg Holmes said: “It was a great honour to take the UAE women’s team to their first GCC Golf Championship.
“They performed very well and having two young girls on the team bodes well for the future of women’s golf in the UAE. The EGF has a large number of girls within the National Junior Development Program (NJDP) and ultimately we will be focusing on gaining international success in future events.”
UAE team manager Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi added: “Overall this was a good trip for the UAE Teams. We didn’t have our best players on both the senior and Under-18 teams but it gave other players a great deal of experience. It was an honour to see the women’s team compete so well. The EGF is excited to see what the future holds for this team.”
