Five UAE players to compete in 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

Dubai: For the first time ever, five golfers will represent the UAE on home turf this October, as Ahmad Skaik, Sam Mullane, Jonathan Selvaraj, Abdulla Kalbat and Rayan Ahmed take on the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Emirates Golf Club’s iconic Majlis Course, running from October 23–26.

Launched in 2009 by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament, the championship was created to accelerate the growth of amateur golf across the region.

The stakes are high: the champion earns a place in the 2026 Masters Tournament and an exemption into The 154th Open, while the runner(s)-up gain entry into The Open Qualifying Series. In addition, the top three finishers will secure spots in The 131st Amateur Championship.

Skaik is no stranger to the Championship, making his sixth appearance in the prestigious event. One of his standout moments came at the 2021 edition at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, where he became just the second Emirati to make the cut - a decade after Ahmed Al Musharrekh etched his name in the history books at Singapore Island Country Club.

Skaik’s UAE National Team teammate, Ahmed, added to that history on his debut at Japan’s Taiheiyo Club last year, becoming the third player representing the UAE to make the cut. His achievement was marked by special congratulations from Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley and Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Vice Chairman General Abdullah Alhashmi.

Kalbat also made his Championship debut last year, while both Mullane and Selvaraj are set to make their first appearances this year on home soil.

“I’m really excited, it’s always special to play significant events like this on home soil,” said Skaik.

“I know the Majlis Course well, and it’s an incredible venue with a rich history of hosting some of the world’s best players. I’m thrilled to have the chance to compete there for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and I can imagine the other players feel the same.”

Alongside the UAE quintet, players from an additional 41 APGC member organizations have accepted invitations with 116 players confirmed thus far for the 120-player field. The field is highlighted by Harry Takis of Australia, 2024 runner-up Ziqin Zhou of China, Kent Hsiao of Chinese Taipei, Jeffrey Shen of Hong Kong, China, Rayhan Latief of Indonesia, Taisei Nagasaki, Taishi Moto and Rintaro Nakano of Japan, and Fifa Laopakdee, Ratchanon “TK” Chantananuwat and Chanachon Chokprajakchat of Thailand. Representatives from four countries have claimed titles at the Asia-Pacific Amateur, including China with five victories, Australia and Japan with four each and the Republic of Korea with two.

Other Middle Eastern representatives in the field include Mousa Shana'ah, Mohammad Alrawashdeh, Salem Alabdallat and Hashem Shana'ah of Jordan, Azzan Al Rumhy and Ahmed Al Wahaibi of Oman, Saleh Ali Alkaabi and Ali Abdulla Al Shahrani of Qatar and Ali Alsakha and Khalid Saud AlFaisal of Saudi Arabia.

“To see such an exceptional field of amateur golfers coming together at Emirates Golf Club is a proud moment for us,” said General Abdullah Al Hashmi, Vice Chairman of the EGF.

“The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship continues to showcase the very best emerging talent from across our region, and this year is no exception. For the United Arab Emirates, having five of our own players competing on home soil makes the occasion even more special.

“It is a chance for them to test themselves against the strongest amateurs in Asia-Pacific, to inspire the next generation of Emirati golfers, and to demonstrate the progress our nation has made in the game. We look forward to welcoming every player to Dubai for what promises to be a historic week of golf.”

Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith. Over the Championship’s 15-year history, the Championship has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including Matsuyama, 2018 champion Takumi Kanaya and 2021 champion Keita Nakajima of Japan, Smith, Cameron Davis and Min Woo Lee of Australia, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, the Republic of Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan. Collectively, alumni of the Asia-Pacific Amateur have gone on to win 33 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 140 events across major professional tours.

Designed by Karl Litten and established in 1988 as the first grass course in the Middle East, Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course is located south of downtown Dubai and enjoys views of the city’s skyline. The Majlis Course annually serves as the host of the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic, an event won by the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els, the latter of which owns the course record of 61. Australia’s Lucas Herbert won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2020 to become the first alum to win the event five years after his final appearance at the Asia-Pacific Amateur. Emirates Golf Club will host the Asia-Pacific Amateur for the first time.