After being on European duty last summer, COVID-confined Josh Hill, Toby Bishop and Arjun Gupta are back to bolster Steven Kelbrick’s EGF line-up who are seeking a fifth straight win in the 54-hole event set for Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club on Oct. 3-4.

Hill, fresh from a run to the round of 16 at The 125th Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale, and Gupta are two of Kelbrick’s four picks, joining Sharjah’s William Xu and Emirati international Khalid Yousuf. Bishop qualified through the truncated EGF Order of Merit season which was won by Dan Byrne. The Els Club Dubai youngster adds yet more firepower to the amateur side which was revealed on Thursday to Golf Digest Middle East, along with Plumb’s 16-strong team.

RELATED: Amhad Skaik set for Dubai Trophy history

Plumb has handed captain’s picks to Al Ain’s Tom Buchanan and unattached former Arabian Ranches head pro Malcolm Young, another experienced Dubai Trophy campaigner who forced his way in with a top-five finish at last week’s UAE PGA Championship.

JA The Resort-attached Plumb is confident he has the team to halt a run of four straight losses but also concedes Kelbrick’s team deserve to go in favourites.

“The Amateurs have a really strong side. Golf in the region has some fantastic talent,” Plumb said. “The big three are all playing, Josh, Toby and Arjun, and they are mixed in with lots of experience so they are formidable opposition. I think we are underdogs but certainly have a great chance and there is no pressure on us.”

It’s not that the Pros are lacking talent or form. Plumb just wrapped up the UAE PGA Order of Merit title, Michael Major (Dubai Creek) edged Dong Lee (Emirates G.C.) 3&2 to capture the Henrik Stenson Eyewear UAE PGA Matchplay Championship while UAE national Ahmed Al Musharrekh (EGF) carded rounds of 75-69 at The Creek for a +1 aggregate to become the first Emirati to capture the UAE PGA Championship earlier this week.

 

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Congratulations to @major_michael for winning the 2020 @henrikstensoneyewear UAE PGA Matchplay Championship ???? Mike fired some timely back nine birdies to edge out runner up @dongkyonlee by 3&2. @gaughanlouis pipped @davidlaingpga to finish in overall 3rd Place. A big thank you to our sponsor Henrik Stenson Eyewear & @trumpgolfdubai for the hospitality today. #uaepga #henrikstensoneyewear #matchplay

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Congratulations to Ahmed Al Musharrekh on winning the UAE PGA Championship. Ahmed fired a -2, 69 round a testing Dubai Creek for a total of 75/69 +1. This is the largest golf competition for a UAE National to ever win and a fantastic achievement for Ahmed ??? Runner up by only a single shot was @jacksonbell01 JGE with 68/77 +2 and in solo third @graydavid_1 with 72/74 +3. X3 tied 4th on +4 @malc_younggolf @phil_waine @urs_perfectman. A fantastic 2 days @jumeirah.golf @dubaicreekgolf and thanks to all their teams for the hospitality. #dubaigolf #dubaicreek #jumeirahgolfestates #uaepga #uae #winner #champion

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“I think the team is extremely strong this year, maybe one of the best I’ve played in with no weak links and lots of people playing well so we go in with a good chance,” Plumb said. “We will be creative with the pairings to try and give us the best chance. I think it’ll just come down to who plays well on the two days. If we play to the level we can, then we have a great chance this year.”

Kelbrick is equally confident, insisting he hadn’t looked at the UAE PGA team.

“We can only control ourselves,” the Trump Dubai member said before recalling his dream performance at the 2019 Senior Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.

“It’s the same as Senior Open. We are here now, let’s embrace it and believe that we can win. Five in a row is possible but the key is attitude. We’ve got to enjoy the experience and allow it to lift our performance. That’s the goal.”

The post Big names return as EGF Amateurs chase Dubai Trophy five-peat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Ahmad Skaik joked last week that his best chance of overhauling his good pal for the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Order of Merit (OOM) title would be if Dan Byrne sat out the final two events of the season.

“I am 20 points behind Dan with two events to play and I always joke with him, tell him not to play the last two because he played two events more than me this season,” the 23-year-old Emirati international said in an interview featured in the September edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

“Dan is a solid golfer so I would say that the only way to do is for me to get two wins in the last two events because I don’t see him finishing outside the top 5. Dan is a very good friend of mine and I will be very happy for him if he wins it but I will try and take it away from him.”

As it turns out, Byrne won’t play the last two events scheduled for Yas Links and Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, nor will +3 handicapper Skaik get a chance at last gasp glory. Indeed, no one will tee it up with the EGF announcing it has been forced to end the 2019-20 season prematurely due to the uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahmad Skaik. (Photo courtesy EGF)

The national body has also cancelled the end of season Order of Merit Championship, a double blow as the 54-hole (36 for juniors) event carried precious World Amateur Golf Ranking points.

“It’s always a tough decision to end a season early or cancel events but with the current environment and restrictions around the UAE we feel that this is the right and safe decision for the golfers,” said EGF Secretary-General, Khalid Mubarak al Shamsi.

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For the record, Byrne won what turned out to be a 12×36 hole-event season with 220.6 points. The Els Club youngster racked up six top-5 finishes in his 11 starts. Skaik, who won the Monty and Trump Dubai Opens, was second on 199.5 points with Dubai Hills Golf Club member Barry Pavic third on 147 points.

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Hyeonji Kang won both the women’s gross and net season titles with three wins in her tally of 179 points from a possible 8, 18-hole events.

Trump Dubai’s Natalii Gupta also won three times to finish runner-up in the gross division with 159 points. Chantal El Chaib (Abu Dhabi Golf Club) was third with 135 points. For all the season OOM results, click here.

The EGF said in a media statement that it hoped to start the 2020-21 season next month.

“With the 2019 – 2020 UAE golf season officially over, the EGF will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation and the closure of boarders in the country. The 2020 – 2021 season is expected to start in early October.”

The post Byrne, Kang crowned champions as EGF season cut short appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.