Skaik sets sights on first DP World Tour cut at Ras Al Khaimah Championship

The UAE’s Ahmad Skaik believes he and his fellow National Team players are edging closer to making their first cut in a DP World Tour event as they prepare for the fourth edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

Skaik has accomplished much in his amateur career, becoming only the second UAE national to make the cut at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, winning the President’s Cup multiple times, and recording the lowest DP World Tour round by an Emirati amateur at the 2021 AVIV Championship.

Yet, despite his best efforts, one milestone still eludes him – making the cut in a DP World Tour event.

The aforementioned AVIV Championship offered Skaik his best opportunity to date, but a brilliant opening round of 68 was followed by a second round 73 in which he narrowly missed the cut at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

At the time, the now 27-year-old was seen as the UAE’s leading hope for golf, carrying the baton for the next generation of Emirati players.

However, recent years have seen several high-level amateur golfers join him on the National Team. The Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) has extended opportunities for certain residents to represent the UAE, recognising them as products of the country due to their training and development within its borders.

On the professional side, Joshua Grenville-Wood and five-time DP World Tour winner Adrián Otaegui have switched their allegiances to the UAE.

This week’s field also includes two amateurs who have made the same transition: Sam Mullane, who is making his DP World Tour debut at Al Hamra Golf Club, and last season’s EGF Order of Merit winner, Jonathan Selvaraj, who is competing in his second Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

With the growing pool of talent now representing the UAE in its red, green, white, and black, Skaik believes it won’t be long before an UAE amateur makes the weekend at a DP World Tour event.

“I think we’re very close,” Skaik told Gulf News.

“We just need to keep playing more of these events, as we’re getting better. Hopefully, the game shows up at the right time, and we’ll do it.”

Skaik’s appearance at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship will mark his ninth start on the DP World Tour but his first since the 2022 Ras Al Khaimah Classic, having spent the past two years focusing on the Challenge Tour.

Competing in events around the globe has helped him develop into a more well-rounded golfer, while the addition of players like Selvaraj and Mullane to the National Team has further elevated his game.

“They are really good players, so it’s been great being able to practice with them every time,” he says.

“We also do chipping and putting competitions, as well as stuff on the range. We play a lot together, which is obviously better than playing on your own, as it’s good to play with someone your level or even better so you can learn or be inspired to step up your own game.”

Ahead of his first DP World Tour start in nearly three years, Skaik had the chance to lean on the UAE’s newest recruit, Otaegui, during a practice round on Tuesday.

The pair share a long-standing bond, with Otaegui having lived in the UAE for the past 13 years and serving as an Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) ambassador. They even played together at this same tournament on this very course three years ago.

During that event, Otaegui, then representing Spain, fired a flawless second-round 63 featuring nine birdies to set a course record at the time, eventually finishing the tournament in a tie for third.

“He’s very, very professional,” said Skaik after Tuesday’s practice round.

“The way he approaches the game, the way he plays, it’s very classy, and he’s a very good person on and off the golf course. Today, watching him, how he analyses the green, writing stuff down, and seeing his game, especially his short game as it’s insane – it will be good to spend more time to step up our game.”

Skaik will get his tournament underway on Thursday, alongside Louis de Jager and Joel Girrbach, at 8:40 a.m. on the tenth tee.