Toby Bishop
Toby Bishop, current leader of Order of Merit of Emirates Golf Association (EGA), will be one of the top contenders for the Emirates Amateur Open, to be held over Friday-Saturday. Image Credit: Instagram/Toby Bishop

Dubai: The 2022 Emirates Amateur Open tees off at Emirates Golf Club on Friday.

This 36-hole event, a Men’s Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Order of Merit event, sanctioned by the EGF will be played over the Faldo Course on Friday - and the Majlis Course on Saturday - and played from the Championship Black Tees.

Altogether 112 players will compete including some of the best amateurs in the UAE. The handicap cut-off for the tournament was at 14 handicap. Representatives from the following UAE golf clubs and organisations are participating: Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Al Hamra Golf Club, Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, Dubai Hills Golf Club, EGF, Emirates Golf Club, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, The Els Club, The Montgomerie Golf Club, Trump International Golf Club and Yas Links Abu Dhabi. International entries are from, England, Ireland, Germany, Kenya, Qatar, Scotland and The Netherlands.

Tee times are from 7.05 am when Miki Mirza (DCGYC) will hit the opening tee shot from the 1st tee. The final tee time is at 1.35 pm.

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Play is in fourballs with a re-draw taking place after the first round with the leaders going out last for the second round.

Leader of the 2021 – 2022 EGF OOM Toby Bishop (TEC), followed by Dan Byrne (TEC) and Max Burrow (DCGYC) are in the field. Other notables who are expected to be in contention are Arjun Gupta (DCGYC), Ahmad Skaik (EGF), and Craig Vance (TIGC).

The tournament has received a huge boost with an Amateur Invite spot for the 2022 Emirates Amateur Open champion for the DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital to be held at Al Hamra Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, Thursday February 3-6, 2022.

Barney Coleman, Club Manager at Emirates Golf Club, said at the draw: ‘We are impressed with the number of entries and the quality of the field. This is our flagship men’s open event on our Emirates Golf Club calendar and, with both golf courses in excellent condition, we are looking forward to two competitive days of golf. We welcome our overseas players, some representing their respective international teams, and hope they enjoy their stay in Dubai. We are extremely grateful to the DP World Tour for arranging this prestigious Amateur invite prize.’

The next Men’s EGF Order of Merit event is the Jumeirah Golf Estates Men’s Open, to be held on January 22-23.