Muscat: The UAE shot 289 to win the team net category of the inaugural GCC U-15 Golf Championship at Oman’s Ghala Valley course at the weekend. Meanwhile, star player Saeed Al Baloushi hit 144 to finish third in the individual net category.
Coach Jason Froggatt’s UAE team consisted of Al Baloushi, Mahmoud Skaik and Mohammad Abdullah Saeed, who are all products of the Emirates Golf Federation’s Junior Development Programme. They were up against stiff opposition in the form of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and hosts Oman.
After round one the UAE were third in the standings with a net score of 144, 13 shots behind day one leaders Qatar on 131 and a shot short of Oman, who were second with a score of 143. The UAE fought back in the second round with a score of 145, which was sufficient to claim net honours.
Al Baloushi’s leadership was pivotal to the teams’ success as he shot rounds of 73 and 71 to claim third place in the individual net category with 144. Meanwhile, Skaik shots rounds of 71 and 75 for a net total of 145 and Abdullah Saeed hit 83 and 82 for a net total of 165.
Oman won the team gross category with a total of 348, nine shots clear of second-placed Kuwait who hit 357, while Qatar finished third on 367.
UAE coach Froggatt said: “Our goal was for the boys to enjoy the experience and play to their handicaps, especially as this was the first overseas tournament for Mohammad and Mahmoud. This is exactly what we did and fortunately we won first place in the team net category, hopefully this will give the team good momentum to progress to the next level.”
