Saadiyat Beach Golf Club will host this week’s 54-hole Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship, to be held from Tuesday to Thursday.
Some 65 players from the UAE and further afield have committed to play in this tournament with R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking status with tee times from 7am to 10.30am on day one, all from the first tee. The draw for the second round will be in reverse order after which the final round will be drawn with leaders out last in score order.
The prize for the gross overall champion will include an invitation to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, a Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour to be held at Yas Links Abu Dhabi in January. Players confirmed for this $8 million tournament to date include world No. 2 Collin Morikawa and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy. The tournament invite for the Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship winner has been coordinated by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
Favourites for the Amateur Championship title include Dubai-based Josh Hill (+5.7), who won this event in 2019 as a 15-year-old He is paired with Robert Moran (+5.8, Ireland) who boasts the highest rank in the field, 206 in the amateur rankings, with Hill at 215.
19 players in the field have handicaps of +3 or better, representing 25 countries.
Others to watch out for this week include Zachary Chegwidden, Victor Svendsen, and local players Sam Mullane (Els Club), Hugo Garcia (EGC), Arjun Gupta (Trump International), Toby Bishop (Trump International) and Thomas Nesbitt (ADGC).
The Emirates Golf Federation alongside the Arab Golf Federation, the sanctioning body for the event, are funding travel and participation for invited Arab players from regional countries to encourage support of this tournament on the UAE and regional golfing calendar.
Robert Fiala, Marketing and Operations Manager of the EGF, said at the draw announcement: “We are delighted to be supporting this initiative. To have some of the best amateur players from Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and Tunisia playing at Saadiyat Beach in Abu Dhabi is an indication that golf is back now in the region. Unfortunately, no UAE National players are participating due to school exams and next week’s Arab Golf Championship at Dreamland Golf Club, Cairo Egypt. We wish all players the best, in one of the strongest fields seen in the UAE in an amateur event. We are all impressed with the strong list of handicaps from all the players in the field, including all the Arab Nationals.”
The following players have been supported by the EGF and AGF to play in this week’s Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship:
Abdelmonen El Shafei +0.2, The Allegria, Egypt
Maged Abdel Tawad Elsayed 0.3, Palm Hills, Egypt
Ahmad Albader +1.9, Kuwait GC, Kuwait
Abu Torab Arghandiwal +1.0, DCGYC, Lebanon
Mirwais Arghandiwal 3.5, DCGYC, Lebanon
Ali Al Shahrani +2.5, Qatar Golf Association
Saleh Al Ali-Kaabi +2.5, Qatar Golf Association
Abdulrahman Abdulla Al Shahrami, 1.5, Qatar Golf Association
Elyes Barhoumi +1.2, FTG, Tunisia
