Jordanian hotshot Shergo Al Kurdi insists he wants to win the Asian-Pacific Amateur Championship for the whole of the Middle East when he tees up in the elite amateur tournament at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club from November 3-6.
He arrives at the prestigious event as the region’s highest ranked player in 309th, and is eager to pay back the support he has received throughout the Middle East.
“I’m extremely excited to get going, especially after missing out last year due to the pandemic,” said Kurdi, who bases himself in England. “It’s great to see the world slowly returning to normal, and I’m really proud of the work that I’ve put in to be the highest ranked player from the region, but if it weren’t for the pandemic affecting my schedule, I think I could have been higher.”
“It would mean the world to me to win it, especially in the UAE, which is like a second home to me. I’m not only representing Jordan, I’m playing on behalf of the Middle East.
“The Emirates Golf Federation has supported me during every visit I’ve made to the UAE. The Arab Federation has always been supportive too. It would be great for me to repay the faith they have shown in me by winning this big event.”
Al Kurdi became the first player from the GCC and Middle East countries to earn Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points while playing on the MENA Tour last year, and was the tour’s leading amateur before the pandemic halted the season.
It was also while playing on the MENA Tour that the youngster got his first taste of Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, when he was just a 14-year-old.
“I remember playing it once at the MENA Tour - I was only 14 at the time,” he said. “It’s an extremely challenging course, especially the last 3 holes.
“You need to be straight from the tee, but long enough to have an easy approach. The biggest challenge is the greens as they’re very grainy. For me, coming from the UK, my short game technique needs to be adapted, as the type of grass is different. I have chosen my strategy for this course: I am going to attack from the word go.”
The amateur sensation comes into the event on a fine run of form after topping the Order of Merit on two mini tours back in the UK, and hopes to use that as a springboard to succeed in Dubai, with the champion of the tournament receiving invites to both The Open Championship and Masters Tournament.
“I have been playing the TP Tour, Clutch Tour and Jamega Tour back home,” he said. “I had a very good season, finishing second, fifth and few more top tens, which saw me top the amateur Order of Merit on both the Clutch Tour and TP Tour for 2021 - I’m delighted with that.
“I’d give my game right now an eight out ten. “I was suffering quite a bit with my swing not too long ago, but that was partly due to the disturbance of my illness, Crohn’s disease. But, since I’ve reunited with my old coach David Burn - the coach of Callum Hill and Bob McIntyre, overall, I’m happy with my game.”
