Representing the UAE will be Khalid Yousuf, Ahmad Skaik, and Abdullah Al Musharrekh.

The UAE tee off on Wednesday at 1.36pm local time (3.36pm UAE) on the Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche course, before heading to Le National on Thursday. The UAE have been paired with Serbia and the Dominican Republic for the opening two rounds.

Akram Skaik, the General Director of the Emirates Golf Federation, will be the UAE team’s non-playing captain, as Yousuf takes part in his ninth Eisenhower Trophy event. Al Musharrekh returns for his first appearance since 2012, with Skaik — the World Amateur No. 63 — rounding out the team.

“It is always a pleasure for the UAE to participate in the World Amateur Team Championship. The golf courses here in France are in great condition and we are expecting to see some great scores. Our players are ready to perform to the best of their ability. Having expectations for this event is always difficult because we are competing against the best amateur golfers in the world. It is important for our players to use the experience gained from this championship to continue their golf journey”, said General Abdullah Alhashmi the Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation.

The 2022 WATC is run by the International Golf Federation (IGF) and hosted by the French Golf Federation.  The event is historically known as the most prestigious team championship in amateur golf. The best two scores from teams of two or three players are calculated every 18 holes of stroke play.

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The Australian became the fourth player in two days to ace the hole, and is now in the driving seat to follow up her Aramco Team Series — Bangkok success with another victory, this time in France.

Hillier, who led her side to the team title in Bangkok last week, used her 8-iron to hole out from 140 yards on a warm and windy afternoon in Evian-Les-Bains.

Earlier, Amy Boulden, Felicity Johnson and Aditi Ashok all holed hrom the tee on the eighth in the same tournament.

Hillier held on to post a level-par round of 71 for a 36-hole total of four-under-par and takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the tournament, where the winner will earn a place in The Amundi Evian Championship.

The recent South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace and the first-round leader Carmen Alonso share second position.

A stroke further back in a tie for fourth, Maggie Simmermacher had the round of the day – a five-under-par 66 – to sit alongside Tiia Koivisto and Johanna Gustavsson.

.@WhitneyHillier aced the par-three eighth hole at the Jabra Ladies Open today, which gives us an excellent excuse to wheel out this old gem ?

Mike Dean certainly enjoyed that one! ?#RaiseOurGame | #JabraLadiesOpen pic.twitter.com/ja8Dfvo19B

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) May 20, 2022

But Hillier was all smiles on the second day.

She said: “I’ve just been laughing all day long with George, my caddie.

“This was my fifth hole-in-one, so it was pretty special. I saw that two players had already made hole in ones this morning so it was in my head and then it just happened.

“I’ve had two holes-in-one this year already, one in Melbourne: crazy.

Hillier won the Team element of the Aramco Team Series — Bangkok at the weekend, but is yet to taste an individual victory on the LET.

While former Order of Merit winner Pace has 11 LET titles on her resume, Alonso is also gunning for her first win on Tour.

She said: “The beginning was OK, it wasn’t windy and the sun was out, but the last ten holes were hard with the wind, and on this course it’s really tough.”

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The post Ladies European Tour: Aramco Series team champ Hillier joins hole-in-one party at Jabra Ladies Open in France appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Spaniard Carmen Alonso took a one-stroke lead in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian-Les-Bains in France on Thursday thanks to an opening five-under 66.

Alonso, 25th on the Ladies European Tour Race to Costa del Sol, had a poor start on the 15th after a shotgun start, but a birdie-par-eagle run before the turn got her in her stride and she added further birdies on the third and seventh holes before carding a second bogey on the eighth and then made further gains at the 10th and 14th.

“This course is really challenging, so you have to focus all the time. If you miss a shot, you don’t have too many chances to recover, so I’m really happy with the round,” said Alonso, now in her 18th year on the LET.

She was helped by fellow LET professional Maria Beautell on caddie duties, the pair having achieved a tie for 13th in the Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open a fortnight ago.

“This year, I’m hitting the ball the same as in previous years but Maria is helping me around the greens, especially with the breaks,” Alonso said. “She is always positive, telling me that I am always doing a good job, so I follow her rules and it’s working.”

The winner of this week’s tournament will earn a place in the $6.5 million Evian Championship, the only Major in continental Europe, to be played in July at the same venue, and so there is fierce competition for the first prize.

Australian Whitney Hillier, who won the Team competition in last week’s Aramco Team Series— Bangkok signed for a four-under-par 67 to lie in second place alongside LET rookie Gabrielle Macdonald from Scotland.

Hillier said: “It was a pretty hot start, to be honest. I took advantage of the pure greens and just had fun out there. The course is in great condition and the weather is very nice, so I’m enjoying myself.

Johanna Gustavsson, Karolin Lampert, Carolin Kauffmann, Billie-Jo Smith and Leonie Harm are a stroke further back in a tie for fourth on three-under-par 68.

Gustavsson, who has recorded three second-place finishes already this season, commented: “I played quite solid. I hit some tee shots well and feel like I could have holed some more putts, but overall it was a nice, stress-free day.”

A win on Saturday would be a double cause for celebration for the Swede, as she will be going home to get married next weekend.

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The post Ladies European Tour: Carmen sings at Jabra Ladies Open in France appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Johanna Gustavsson has had a fantastic start to the 2022 Ladies European Tour — but despite consistently finding herself at the right end of the leaderboard, she is still hunting that first piece of silverware of the campaign.

The Swede already has three second-placed finishes and several top-10 placements is year, with her most recent runners-up spot coming at the Aramco Team Series – Bangkok last week, where she finished three shots behind champion Manon De Roey in Thailand. She also has second-place finishes at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International and Women’s NSW Open earlier this year.

Next up is the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian-Les-Bains and Gustavsson is confident that the win will come sooner rather than later.

“I’m playing quite solid at the moment, and I’m looking forward to being in France and just keep working on the putting,” she told the LET.

“The putting has been decent I would say. I holed a lot of putts in the middle of my final round in Thailand, which was nice. I thought I got through it pretty nicely and I’m proud of that and happy with it.”

Gustavsson is second in the Race to Costa Del Sol rankings heading into this week’s event, as she trails compatriot Maja Stark by 323.50 points.

And with her wedding scheduled for next weekend, and what better way to celebrate than with a victory in France?

“I am excited,” she said. “We do look forward to it, spending some with family and friends as well, and just have a nice day celebrating love.”

Last week in Bangkok also saw Ana Pelaez continue her impressive form, as she backed up her victory at the Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open with a T5 finish in Thailand.

After a roller-coaster couple of weeks, which saw her make last minute plans to play in Thailand after her victory in her homeland, the Spaniard is eager to continue her good form at a place that she knows well.

“Evian stole my heart when I played the Young Masters so I’m super-excited to come back and play the Jabra Ladies Open,” she said.

“Last week in the final round I looked up at the scoreboard and really wanted to finish in the top ten, so I got my stuff together.

“I was just patient and stuck to the plan that I had at the time, and it worked. I started to read the putts better so they started to go in so that helped a lot.”

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By Dave Shedloski
On a recent sunny and warm afternoon in south Florida, Jim Furyk had an epiphany, an idea about how to create more team-room chemistry for the Ryder Cup in Paris this September.

The only problem? The timing of it wasn’t particularly convenient. The U.S. captain found himself without anything on which to write it down. Except for a scorecard. Which belonged to his playing partner, Stewart Cink. And he happened to be standing on the 15th tee on the Champion course at PGA National, the opening to the treacherous three-hole stretch known as the Bear Trap. Tee to green on the windswept 180-yard par 3 is separated by water, which then wraps around the right side and rear of the putting surface.

Perfect time to let the mind wander—if you don’t mind making bogey. Furyk did mind. And he was equally displeased with another bogey on the 17th hole that further marred what had been a largely satisfying second round in the Honda Classic.

Golf does not have a man who is more congenial and professional than Furyk. Neither is there one more competitive. His even-par 70 was still plenty good enough to make the cut. But he was irritated. So what if it was only his fourth competitive round since missing the cut in the PGA Championship last August. So what if he’d only been hitting balls since January because of a nagging shoulder injury. So what if he’s got captaincy concerns pinging his brain at all hours.

“I made some bad, bad swings today coming in. Just not trusting myself,” he said while munching on an energy bar. “Let a good round get away, so I’m struggling to look at the positives right now.”

A shoulder injury caused Furyk to fail to make the FedEx Cup playoffs last year for the first time in his career. (Warren Little)

Tiger Woods isn’t the only major champion attempting a comeback this year. Furyk, who will be 48 in May, didn’t have fusion surgery like his more decorated friend, but the fusion of his captain’s duties with a desire to be competitive this year isn’t the most promising elixir. isH

Due primarily to his health struggles in 2017, Furyk failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in his career, which is why he is competing on the PGA Tour this season on his past-champion status. He’ll make his third start at this week’s Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., paired with Branden Grace and Brandt Snedeker for the first two rounds.

A final-round 74 at the Honda dropped him to T-46, not necessarily the momentum he’d like to be taking into this week.

“I’m not quite back in the flow. After six months off, I don’t feel it,” said Furyk, a 17-time PGA Tour winner, including the 2003 U.S. Open. “There are flashes. There are times I’m really comfortable, but there are definitely some situations where I could have some more confidence, have a few more rounds under my belt to feel that I have a trust factor with what I’m doing out there.”

Not helping matters was the fact he spent nearly as much time in meetings at PGA National as he did hitting golf balls. The challenge of leading an American team to victory abroad in the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1993 has been a consuming endeavour.

“I’d say this week I spent more time being a captain,” admitted Furyk, who by the way wouldn’t reveal that on-the-course Ryder Cup epiphany (we told you he was competitive). “Was over the PGA of America for the press conference [to announce Woods and Steve Stricker as vice captains], and then I was there the next day for some meetings. It’s definitely taking time. It hasn’t snuck up on me, though I wouldn’t say I was totally prepared for this. But I was prepared for the idea that I was going to spend a lot of effort and time, and I want to have fun doing it as well.

“I have a lot of people, whether its friends or family or players, ask me, ‘Is it as much work as you thought?’ Or ‘Is it as much as they say?’ But they say ‘work’ and not realize there’s an enjoyment factor. I take the position that there is a lot of time involved, a lot of preparation, but this is something that I always wanted to do. There is fun in that.”

But that doesn’t mean he is willing to sacrifice enjoyment on the course. Furyk can’t fathom being so absorbed by golf that he wouldn’t allow himself moments to think about other things or have casual conversations with his playing companions or longtime caddie Mike (Fluff) Cowen.

Furyk says he’s enjoying the behind-the-scenes captain’s work as it ramps up ahead of September’s Ryder Cup. (Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

“They said Ben Hogan would get to the first tee and he would concentrate on golf for five hours. There’s no way I could do that,” Furyk said. “Lee Trevino could talk and talk but then turn the switch back on and think about the next shot. I’m more in that realm. I have to let go a little.”

On the other hand, Furyk still feels competitive, being less than three years removed from his last victory at the 2015 RBC Heritage. He’s fighting the urge to let the Ryder Cup become his priority, something that wasn’t an issue when he was a vice-captain to Davis Love III at Hazeltine National in 20016.

“I can play a little, at least when I’m healthy, so, yeah, I’d like to see what kind of golf I am capable of playing this year,” said Furyk, who refrained from using his career earnings exemption because of the uncertainty with his health. “I’m glad I’m doing this before I’m 50 so that I’m out here. I’m seeing the guys. I’m in the locker room. I can go to dinner with them. Or play practice rounds. I think I can still play. I have to get healthy. I need more rounds under my belt.”

Notice the blending of the ideas. It can’t be helped. He is a player. He is a captain. The dual identity adheres to him like lint in his pocket. This will be a year-long tussle. He’ll have to decide how much of this ride he’ll enjoy if his stats match up poorly with the dozen players that will eventually populate his team. He will notice.

“I look at stats a lot more than I used to,” he admitted. “It’s part of the deal.”

So is the interminable wait to get to Paris.

“There are times I wish it were tomorrow. And there are times when I know that I need the preparation,” he said. “I look at it like this: It’s a long time since I was named the captain, to think about an event. Haven’t talked to Thomas [Bjorn, the European Team captain] about it. But it dawns on you that you are putting all of this preparation and thinking and energy into it, and it’s going to be three days. And it’s going to go so fast and be over. It’s a weird feeling.”

Well, he can always distract himself with tournament golf in the meantime. See the dilemma?

The post Jim Furyk’s balancing act appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

PARIS — It’s a common refrain. Not too long into their tenures, Ryder Cup captains on both sides of the Atlantic tend to be saying two things. On the one hand, they modestly confirm beyond any shadow of doubt their inability to perform as playing captains in the biennial matches while simultaneously explaining the rigors of the position of non-playing skipper. Thus, the apparently monumental stresses and responsibilities of the role are confirmed to all.

Also tagging along is another traditional announcement. My goodness, it is surprising that so many decisions and commitments are involved in the job of leading a team of golfers into a three-day match played once every two years, even long before hostilities are resumed.

Speaking of which, 2018 European captain, Thomas Bjorn, and his American counterpart, Jim Furyk, have just completed a busy couple of days in and around the French capital, where the 42nd matches will take place at Le Golf National next September.

All as part of the so-called “year to go” event, the pair played five holes (followed by a clinic) at the match venue with selected juniors from the French Federation’s elite squad. Mickey Mouse popped over from nearby EuroDisney. There was a visit to a local school, where the skippers were greeted by a room full of enthusiastic flag-waving youngsters. There was a glamorous dinner at the Palace of Versailles. Time was spent with the French president, Emmanuel Macron. And, just to round things off, almost exactly 41 years to the day since Arnold Palmer became the first golfer to blast off from the top of the Eiffel Tower, Bjorn and Furyk reproduced the King’s iconic tee-shot.

Furyk and Bjorn tee off from a platform on the Eiffel Tower during the Ryder Cup 2018 Year To Go event. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

As you’d expect, both captains spoke glowingly of the fun and games in their joint press conference. Furyk was “blown away” and Bjorn went with “amazing” before launching into a brief monologue worthy of Winston Churchill. The only thing missing was any mention of fighting on beaches.

“The Ryder Cup provides so much more to the world than just a game of golf over three days,” said the Dane. “It touches hearts. It goes to 200 countries around the world. This is an event—in a world that is a little bit fragmented at times—that can touch all of us. And I believe that it is out job, as Ryder Cup captains, not only to lead our teams but to show that sport and the game of golf can bring people together.”

Furyk was quick to pay tribute to the European fans he knows will be sure to give his side a hard—but hopefully fair—time 11 months hence.

“My hats off to the European crowd,” he said. “They make a lot of noise, even in small numbers in the U.S. It takes 30,000 Americans to drown out about 2,500 Europeans.”

Thankfully, sitting apart in later interviews with the print media, both men were less inclined to rhetoric and more comfortable talking golf. As ever, better questions led to better answers, especially when it came to the subject of Ryder Cup rookies and the quality of the young Americans who shined so brightly at the recent Presidents Cup.

“What impresses me most is their lack of fear,” said Furyk, who served as an assistant captain to Steve Stricker at Liberty National. “A lot of young players on both sides of the pond have come out at an early age, jumped in the deep and won almost right away. Jordan [Spieth] did that. Justin [Thomas] did that. Brooks [Koepka] broke out this year. And, on the other side, Jon Rahm has been incredible.”

Asked if the losing European squad at Hazeltine National last year, one containing six rookies, had been fatally short of experience, Bjorn was also quick to shoot down that particular theory.

“I don’t believe in the inexperience thing, I really don’t,” he said. “Some of the greatest Ryder Cup players were fantastic from the get‑go. Guys like Sergio [Garcia] and [Ian] Poulter. I remember Lee [Westwood] at Valderrama in 1997 being the same. So no, there’s never too many rookies. But rookies are different. Some people learn over time and some people go straight into it.

“Jim says some of his older players have a lot of scars. Well, rookies have no scars. Look at Patrick Reed. He wanted to get out there and win points right away. That’s a great rookie.”

A thornier subject for Furyk is the reality that no U.S. squad has won a Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993, “a quarter century of hurt,” as he put it. So would victory in France a year from now represent something of a “final frontier” for this much-vaunted generation of American stars?

Furyk signs autographs during the Year To Go Ryder Cup event at Le Golf National. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

“When we got together to discuss the future of this event, we really looked at it from a long‑term perspective,” said the nine-time Ryder Cupper who played on only two winning sides. “I know we always want to think we have to win now. Everything we do in life is for now, now, now. But if you are setting up a great business you are looking at a five‑year plan, a 10‑year plan, a 20‑year plan for your company. So what we are trying to accomplish is more of a long‑term success. How are we going to do in the next 10 Ryder Cups? In order to do that, we eventually have to win on foreign soil. So I guess you called that the new frontier. That’s something we have to accomplish to validate our team and what we are trying to do for the future.”

Inevitably, there was talk too of Tiger Woods and the possibility of the 14-time major champion playing some sort of role, either on or off the course, next year. Make that a strong probability. Even if Woods doesn’t make the American squad as a player, he is a shoo-in to be a big part of Furyk’s backroom staff.

“I wasn’t surprised to see how much Tiger brings to the team room,” Furyk said. “I played alongside him in Ryder Cups. I saw how he thought. I know how competitive he is. I know how much he wanted to win those matches. But I was impressed by the amount of time and the amount of effort he put into it. He was an asset for Davis and Steve [Stricker].

“He’s done a particularly great job coming up with reasons why he might match players together in a four-ball or foursome. He looks at the golf course and at the personalities. He’s a bright individual and being so good at golf himself, not only from a physical standpoint but from a mental standpoint, he brings some of those same tactics to setting up pairings.”

There was a final perspective, too, from Furyk. Asked if he could see the U.S. dominating the next few Ryder Cups he was understandably cautious.

“That would be putting the cart before the horse right after the bat,” he said. “We lost the three Ryder Cups previously to Hazeltine. So right now that would be like trying to play the 14th hole when we are on the first tee.

“We had a great week at the Presidents Cup. And the International team didn’t play the golf they are capable of. Plus we have a lot of momentum in that event. We had the feeling of, ‘All right, here we go again.’ And they had the feeling of, ‘S—, here we go again.’ So let’s not get too excited. I don’t want our guys going in there next year overconfident and thinking they are the greatest team. I want them going in with a chip on their shoulder and with something to prove.”

Which might not be a bad plan. Not surprisingly, Bjorn was quick to talk up Europe’s prospects of regaining the trophy it has won eight times in the last 12 contests.

“My job is my team, and the 12 players I’m going to have,” Bjorn said. “I looked at the world rankings this morning. I’ve got 10 players in the top‑20 and the 21st player is European as well. So we’re going to have a very strong team.”

OK, enough of the phoney war. Let’s just skip the next 11 months and get on with it, shall we?

The post Next September can’t come fast enough as Ryder Cup captains whet our appetites for 2018 matches in France appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.