By Kent Gray
Can Michael Bolt finally be the captain to halt the amateur’s five-year Dubai Golf Trophy dynasty?

We’re about to find out with the teams for the April 10-11 Ryder Cup-style matches between Bolt’s UAE PGA Tour pros and the Ahmed Skaik-captained Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) amateurs released.

REWIND: UAE PGA captain Luke Plumb on fifth straight Dubai Trophy loss: ‘The EGF top 5 did a number on us’

Bolt’s 16-man team for the 22nd edition at Emirates Golf Club (Faldo course) and Jumeirah Golf Estates (Earth course) features a number of familiar faces including freshly minted UAE PGA Championship winner Luke Plumb and David Gray who edged Bolt 1-up to win his third UAE matchplay championship recently.

UAE PGA Championship winner Luke Plumb is set to be a key member of the professional team.

Skaik, the first Emirati to captain a Dubai Trophy team, will partner UAE national teammate Khalid Yousuf in the Saturday foursomes against Purna Sharma & Malcolm Young.

There are some particularly juicy top of the order match-ups with amateur team talisman Josh Hill teaming with Jay Mullane to take on Dong Lee and Jonathan Craddock while Arjun Gupta and Yash Majmudar take on Bolt and beaten UAE matchplay semifinalist Sujjan Singh.

For the first time, women will compete in the Dubai trophy with Olivia Jackson and Anneke Strobach representing the UAE PGA and Hyeonji Kang and Natalii Gupta, Arjun’s sister, the EGF amateurs. They will play a separate competition this week ahead of the women being incorporated into the full Dubai Trophy in 2022.

The Faldo will host the foursomes and fourball matches on Saturday ahead of the singles on Earth Sunday.

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UAE PGA Professionals v EGF Amateurs

Saturday Foursomes
Match 1: Dong Lee & Jonathan Craddock v Josh Hill & Jay Mullane
Match 2: Michael Bolt (Captain) & Sujjan Singh v Arjun Gupta & Yash Majmudar
Match 3: Luke Plumb & Phil Waine v Viggo Sorensen & Zubair Firdaus
Match 4:  Graham Forbes & Louis Gaughan v Toby Bishop & Sam Mullane
Match 5: David Gray & Ryan Smith v Steve Kelbrick & Max Burrow
Match 6: Purna Sharma & Malcolm Young v Ahmed Skaik (Captain) & Khaled Yousuf
Match 7: Bishnu Sharma & Sam McLaren v Dan Byrne & Niklas Korjonen
Match 8: Michael Major & Thomas Ogilvie v Gordon Munro & Jake Wiltshire
Ladies: Olivia Jackson & Anneke Strobach v Hyeonji Kang & Natalii Gupta

The post Bolt, Skaik name teams as EGF amateurs chase Dubai Golf Trophy six-peat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Anxious to avoid a fifth straight defeat in the annual Ryder Cup-style matches, the pros will take a two-point, 9-7 advantage into the 16 singles matches at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club after a particularly satisfying afternoon of work on Earth yesterday.

 

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DGT2020

A post shared by DGT (@dubai_golf_trophy) on Oct 3, 2020 at 12:16am PDT

The amateurs established a 5-3 lead after the opening foursomes at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Saturday, highlighted by 2&1 wins for Josh Hill and Toby Bishop and Emirati duo Ahmad Skaik and Khalid Yousuf over Michael Major and Tom Buchanan and Ryan Smith and David Laing respectively.

Hill and Bishop were impressively six-under in seeing off Major and Buchanan.

 

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A few from today’s #dubaigolftrophy @j.hill_golf and @welsh_golfer shot six under to win their foursomes 2&1! It was a great match, well done lads! @robwattsperformance

A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb) on Oct 3, 2020 at 12:05am PDT

But the pros mounted an impressive comeback in the afternoon fourballs, winning six of the eight matches. Hill and Bishop kept their unbeaten record intact for the amateurs with a 2&1 win over Buchanan and Samuel McLaren while Arjun Gupta and Dave Guinee kept the amateurs in the contest with an important 3&2 win over Steven Munro and Malcolm Young.

Check out the putt Hill drained to seal a second win with Bishop.

 

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Good day at the office, the 4 ball second match today was a grid but Josh carried a boogie free day on till the end! Most important lesson was proving that golf still can be won with only three GOOD shots and 65 average shots in a round! @jmgolfcoach thanks had to borrow that! #dubaigolftrophy

A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb) on Oct 3, 2020 at 8:34am PDT

Boom.

There were big 5&4 wins for the Michaels, Major and Bolt, over Max Barrow and Bayhaan Lakdawala, and for Jackson Bell and captain Luke Plumb over Barry Pavic and Gordon Munro. Louis Gaughan and Jordan Gallagher were also impressive 4&3 winners over Skaik and Yousuf.

And so onto Sunday’s singles where there are some intriguing matchups with Hill pitted against newly minted UAE PGA Matchplay champion Major in the first match out at 11.30am. EGF captain Steven Kelbrick, who will face Gallagher, has stacked his order hoping for a fast start to ratchet up the pressure on the Plumb’s pros.

A fascinating Sunday awaits at The Creek.

 

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All to play for tomorrow with the UAE PGA Professionals leading the way 9-7 from the EGF amateurs. Morning foursomes 3-5 afternoon fourballs 6-2 so a come back from the pros. #dubaicreek #jumeirahgolfestates #dubaigolftrophy #dubaigolf #uaepga #egf

A post shared by UAE PGA (@uaepga) on Oct 3, 2020 at 8:03am PDT

The post UAE PGA pros fightback for 9-7 lead heading into Sunday’s Dubai Trophy singles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

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

A post shared by UAE PGA (@uaepga) on Sep 15, 2020 at 5:30am PDT

 

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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

A post shared by UAE PGA (@uaepga) on Sep 22, 2020 at 4:24am PDT

“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
A mild surprise at the UAE PGA Tour season-opener at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club late last month was the performance of home club hero Tom Buchanan.

A serial winner on the regional circuit with four titles from nine starts last season, the Scot signed for an uncharacteristically sloppy 76 on his home track to finish near the foot of the leaderboard, not a place he is accustomed with.

“It felt horrible and I finished well down the field, and that was disappointing,” Buchanan told GolfDigestme.com of his tie for 15th in the Sept. 24 event won by The Address Montgomerie Dubai’s Ryan Smith.

Fast-forward a month to the fourth stop on the UAE PGA’s 17-tournament schedule and it is fair to say normal service has resumed. With a brilliant one-under 71 in blustery conditions at the perennially challenging The Track, Meydan Golf, Buchanan eased to a four-stroke victory over Luke Plumb, the UAE PGA chief executive’s Trump Dubai club-mate Mike Bolt and Monty head pro Martin Robinson on Sunday.

“I had my kids on the range with me [at AESGC] on Saturday night hitting a few shots and it started to feel good and thankfully it continued to Meydan,” Buchanan said, noting Sophia, 8, and two-year-old Andrew have become willing range-rats. Here’s the happy proof from Saturday night:

Sophia Buchanan

Andrew Buchanan

Buchanan bogeyed the Track’s notoriously tricky par-5 1st but made the turn one under courtesy of birdies on the 4th and 7th. Further gains followed on the 10th and 14th as Buchanan dipped to three under with four to play and while there were bogeys on 15th and 17th, it only served to highlight how dominant the 38-year-old’s performance was.

“I drove the ball very well and the greens were excellent so anytime I had a putt I thought it could go in. So another nice victory…just need to keep it going.”

Count on Buchanan featuring at Arabian Ranches G.C. (Nov. 5) and at Trump Dubai (Dec. 3) if his work schedule allows. He’ll definitely tee it up Dec. 10-11 at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in what is the UAE PGA’s 36-hole qualifier for a spot in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Buchanan earned a cult following in last January’s European Tour Desert Swing opener and is desperate to experience that high again.

RELATED: Tommy’s honour as Buchanan bows out of European Tour debut in style

“The HSBC qualifier is on everyone’s calendar this year. The prize is so great that everyone will be doing a little more to try and win that event,” Buchanan said.

Whatever happens at Saadiyat Beach, the popular Scotsman has a date with destiny next May as the UAE PGA pros look to avert a fourth straight loss to the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs in the annual, Ryder Cup-style Dubai Golf Trophy.

“It’s a big year for me as captain of the Dubai Golf Trophy team, trying to wrestle that trophy back from the amateurs. Hopefully, with a good UAE PGA season under our belts, the lads can come good for that.”

RELATED: Rayhan Thomas leads perfect trio as amateurs seal Dubai Golf Trophy three-peat

The post After being ‘horrible’ at home, normal service resumes as Buchanan claims his fifth title in last 11 starts appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The Emirates Golf Federation amateurs are seven points away from an historic Dubai Trophy hat-trick after dominating the opening day of the annual Ryder Cup-style matches against the UAE PGA’s finest.

Max Burrow’s EGF team lead Ryan Smith’s pros 10-6 heading into Sunday’s singles matches after capturing Saturday’s morning foursomes and the afternoon fourballs on the Faldo course at Emirates G.C. by identical 5-3 margins.

It means the amateurs need to win just six of today’s 16 singles matches at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club to guarantee a halved match and retention of the trophy as defending champions. But they’ll want to do it in style with seven or more points and Smith’s team are up against it in more ways than one; not only do they need to win the singles 11-5 or better, they will have to overcome a confident team and a suffocating sandstorm that has swept across Dubai.

World amateur No.17 Rayhan Thomas and experienced Bayhaan Lakdawala combined for two wins for the amateurs on Saturday, easing past Jack Woods and Jordan Gallagher 4&3 in the foursomes and David Gray and Mikael Gartner 3&1 in the foursomes.

Newly minted EGF OOM Championship winner Nathan Fisher and Mike Mezei, the latter a captain’s pick like Lakdawala, are also unbeaten after 3&2 and 2up victories over Malcolm Young and Jonathan Craddock in the foursome and fourball matches respectively.

Tough conditions for Day 2 of the Dubai Golf trophy @DubaiCreekGolf | For live scoring: https://t.co/GUeQhE6cxT or download the Golf Genius Software Application and log in using the code DUBAIGOLFTROPHY pic.twitter.com/rEel5NUVFu

— Dubai Creek Golf (@DubaiCreekGolf) May 13, 2018

Teens Josh Hill and Arjun Gupta are also unbeaten (as were Lawry Cook and Bradley Mogire), coasting past Trump Dubai’s Luke Plumb and Mike Bolt 3&2 in the foursomes before an epic halved fourball match against the same opposition.

“We were rubbish in the morning but in the afternoon we were seven under better ball to halve,” said Plumb. “We played out of our skin to halve with them,” the UAE PGA chief executive continued before admitting he was pleased to avoid Hill in today’s singles. “Arjun was good too to be fair.”

Shane Peacock has drawn the short Hill straw for the singles which began at 11.30am. The Al Ain pro will fancy his chances; he was unbeaten alongside club mate Tom Buchanan on Saturday.

Also recording a pair of wins for the pros were Joe Way and Mike Major who will enjoy home course advantage on Sunday.

For those wanting to follow the scores you can download Golfgenius app and can log in with the GGID code DUBAIGOLFTROPHY

— UAE PGA (@uaepga) May 12, 2018

The post EGF amateurs on brink of Dubai Golf Trophy treble as UAE PGA pros left with it all to do in Sunday singles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Dubai Creek teaching pro survived a high-scoring playoff to edge UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb (Trump Dubai) and Jonathan Craddock (Emirates G.C.) after the trio had reached overtime with one-over 73s on The Faldo course.

Related: Let UAE PGA winner Joe Way show you how to escape fairway bunkers

Plumb was the first casualty in extra time, a double-bogey on the Faldo’s par-4 1st not enough to match Way and Craddock’s bogeys. The survivors then bogeyed the par-3 2nd before Way finally got the job done with a par on the par-5 3rd.

@joeway_ Joe Way was victorious @emiratesgc winning a 3 hole playoff after tieing on 73 with @golfcoachjc and Luke Plumb. #emiratesgolfclub #faldocourse #uaepga #dubaigolftrophy #orderofmerit

A post shared by UAE PGA (@uaepga) on Mar 7, 2018 at 10:26am PST

Way isn’t in the field for the next event on the PGA schedule at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Monday but is well placed in the season-long order of merit in fifth place after 14 of 19 events. Stefan Wears-Taylor, Mills, Mike Bolt (Trump Dubai) and Ryan Smith (The Address Montgomerie) make up the top four heading into the Abu Dhabi, the Montgomerie Pro-Am (April 2), Jumeirah Golf Estates (April 16) and UAE PGA Strokeplay Championship at Arabian Ranches on April 30-May 1.

The UAE PGA Matchplay Championship, which also counts towards the final OOM standings, is on-going with the semifinals and final to be held at Trump International Golf Club Dubai in the week before the strokeplay championship.

Related: What a Way to finish the UAE PGA Pro Am

The top 14 players in the OOM standings, plus two picks, qualify for the UAE PGA team hoping to regain the Dubai Trophy against the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs at Emirates G.C. and Dubai Creek on May 12-13.

The post Way wins second UAE PGA title on The Faldo after tough playoff appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The search for the next Rayhan Thomas is off to an impressive start.

After a seven-year hiatus, the first of the UAE PGA’s five event par 3 series for the Al Naboodah Trophy attracted 50 juniors to Trump International Golf Club, Dubai on Feb.24. And there was some impressive scoring on Trump’s pristine Par-3 course too, lead by Adam Niaz (pictured above).

Related: Rayhan Thomas reminisces as the Al Naboodah Trophy is revived

The Els Club, Dubai member negotiated Trump’s little links in 29 strokes, two-over-par, to pip Daniel Whittaker on countback (over the last three holes) for the division one title.

In division two, Alex Sherwin Cutinha (pictured below) won with a gross 36, four shots clear of Griffen McCarragher.

Thomas, the two-time defending champion from the last edition of the Al Naboodah Trophy in 2011, has gone on to create MENA Tour history, equal a world record for successive birdies in a pro event, qualify No.1 for the Internationals in the Junior Presidents Cup and will represent Asia-Pacific at the prestigious Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy in Doha next month.

He’s also verbally committed to Oklahoma State University, a pathway to pro golf UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb hopes some of the new generation of Al Naboodah Trophy participants will follow.

Related: Rayhan is a Cowboy and Rickie Fowler is delighted

“The level of competition was excellent with some great golf being played in both divisions. It was also nice to see the support and encouragement of all the parents driving their children from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai to play,” said Plumb who is also Golf Operations/Events Manager at Trump Dubai.

“The first tournament at Trump International gives us a platform to build on and grow the series with more participants and lower scores at each and every event. The future of golf in the UAE is in good hands”

The next event is scheduled for Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club on March 17. The series concludes with a grand final on May 12 at Emirates Golf Club.

The post Els junior Adam Niaz shines as search for next UAE golf stars begins appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 21-year-old Al Zorah pro looped the testing The Track, Meydan Golf in two-under 70 on Sunday to back up his win in the season-opening Yas Links Pro-Am.

Related: Wears-Taylor wins Yas Links Pro-Am to pick up where he left off last season

Wears-Taylor finished four strokes clear of host-club pro Alex Nicholson and the in-form duo of Ryan Smith (The Address Montgomerie, Dubai) and Michael Bolt (Trump International G.C., Dubai).

The win sees Wear-Taylor atop the OOM standings with 661.60 points, 155.8 points clear of Bolt who secured his second UAE PGA title at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club a fortnight ago after beating Smith in a playoff after both had posted 68s.

Great to be out on the @alzorahgolfclub fairways again! @taylormadegolf #golfislife #taylormade #whywelovethisgame @beautifulgolfcourses

A post shared by Stefan Wears-Taylor (@stefwt1) on Sep 10, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT

The OOM top 5 after the Track is: Wears-Taylor (661.60 pts), Bolt (505.80 pts), Smith (413.10 pts), newly appointed UAE PGA CEO Luke Plumb (Trump Dubai/377.50 pts) and Mikael Gartner (CV Sports Group/343 pts).

After a short break with the industry focused on the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the UAE PGA Tour resumes at Arabian Ranches on Nov. 27. There are also events scheduled for Trump Dubai (Dec. 4) and Saadiyat Beach (Dec. 12).

The post Wears-Taylor waltzes away with second UAE PGA Tour title of the season at The Track appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.