World Amateur Team Championship Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Gear change: Khalifa Al Masaood is thrilled to see golf developing in the region

Matt Smith — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 07:10:03 +0000

Khalifa Abdulla Al Masaood has had something of a rare challenge as he juggles his time between his role as a director at one of the largest companies in the UAE and his other passion — playing golf.

The 39-year-old is a product of the dedication put in by the likes of the Emirates Golf Federation to support and develop golfing talent of all nationalities across the country and Al Masaood recently had the honour of representing the UAE in the 2023 GCC Golf Championship in Bahrain. While he is part of the growing number of Emiratis who have embraced golf, it all started with a trip with his grandfather as a kid.

“I got into golf through my granddad at the age of six,” Al Masaood told Golf Digest Middle East. “He originally came from New Zealand and he was in the Royal Air Force. When he was out here, from time to time we would play on the Al Ghazal course in Abu Dhabi — the sand course — the first experience I had with golf was with that little plastic green mat.

“That was really my first experience on a golf course. He would always have the golf on in the house and we would always watch together — all sports, but really the golf.

“One day I said I would love to try it and that’s where we began and I got into it.”

As with many budding young athletes, Al Masaood got into different sports as he grew, but the golf bug remained.

“In my teenage years I really got into tennis and focused on that,” he said. “But got has a funny old way of coming back to you and that is what happened as I fell back in love with the game.

“I began to really improve and played some junior events in the US, including the Junior Worlds in 2001, which was an amazing experience.

“During my twenties, I got into the family business and that took up a lot of my time but, as I said, golf is one of those games that after a while you realise how much you miss it and get back into it. But then you remember how difficult it can be, too. Now I have been playing consistently and sometimes with the National Team, including at the GCC Golf Championship.

“That was something I will never forget. I felt privileged to be invited and I know I will not get another opportunity like that to play against some of the best amateurs in the world. It was something incredible — it is tough as the level is so high, it can be quite daunting, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime thing you would never want to miss.

Now, as he nears 40, Al Masaood has witnessed first-hand the next generation of golfers like the UAE No. 1 amateur Ahmad Skaik, coming through and he has noticed a big difference from his days as a youngster.

“I have known Ahmad since he was a teenager, and not only is he a great golfer he is a very respectful and likeable guy. It is incredible how far he has come, and he is a good role model for some of the other juniors, and even they have really come on.

“The popularity of the sport in the region has increased massively and we have so many amazing courses. Every course is different. In any other sport, you are playing on the same shape of field, but golf is unique in that it can change massively from course to course.”

The growth of the game is not only limited to the Emirati players as a number of ex-pat youngsters located in the UAE have broken through, including Josh Hill, Toby Bishop, Chiara Noja and Maya Palanza Gaudin.

“It’s incredible the talent across the board,” Al Masaood said. “The nice thing is there is now a group of them and they all push each other to get better and they realise that once someone is winning like Chiara, they can do it too. It’s a bit of a snowball effect when they see their friend can do it.

“Also the practice facilities, the courses and the coaching is world-class. There is an immense involvement in the game and a great opportunity for a lot of people to try the game.”

The World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) is taking place at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in October and Al Masaood cannot wait for the event to showcase what the UAE has to offer the golfing world — even if he is not playing himself.

“I won’t be able to play [due to other commitments in October],” he explained. “It is an incredible thing to have here as it solidifies the UAE as a golfing capital the world. It’s good to see we are not just having the professional events but the amateurs are coming too. It shows the best players come from and how they have developed and grown and to host it is an honour.”

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Emirates Golf Federation receives IGF banner ahead of hosting 2023 World Amateur Team Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates

Matt Smith — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 07:26:45 +0000

Emirates Golf Federation Vice Chairman General Abdallah Alhashmi & French Golf Federation President, Pascal Grizot

By Matt Smith
The 2022 World Amateur Team Championship drew to a close in Paris on Sunday evening and, following the crowning of Italy as champions, the Emirates Golf Federation was presented with the International Golf Federation banner ahead of hosting the 2023 competition at Jumeirah Golf Estates in the UAE.

The famous amateur team tournament now moves on to Dubai next year for the 33rd edition following the closing ceremony in France, where the French Golf Federation President, Pascal Grizot, handed the championship banner to EGF Vice Chairman General Abdallah Alhashmi.

In October 2023, the EGF will host the 33rd WATC on JGE’s Fire Course. The WATC is conducted by the IGF, where National Golf Federations enter a women’s team and men’s team, made up of three amateur golfers, to compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy (Ladies) and the Eisenhower Trophy (Men’s).

During the 2022 Eisenhower Trophy, Khalid Yousuf, Ahmad Skaik and Abdullah Al Musharrekh represented the UAE. It was a challenging weekend for the team, due to injuries and a lack to competitive action. The UAE finished 68th place after four days’ play on Le Golf National and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche courses.

“The Emirates Golf Federation is looking forward to hosting the IGF and world golf federations in the UAE next year,” said Gen. Alhashmi. “For years the UAE has hosted top professional championships in the sport and now we have the opportunity to host the most respected amateur championships in the world. “Hosting the championships in the UAE shows the dedication that the EGF has to the development of the sport within the region”.

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UAE ready for tee off at World Amateur Team Championship in France

Matt Smith — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 11:47:12 +0000

By Matt Smith
The UAE will line up alongside a record 71 other teams at the 32nd World Amateur Team Championship (WATC, or Eisenhower Trophy) at the Le Golf National and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche in Paris, France, this week.

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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Khalid Yousuf’s Eisenhower Trophy longevity is impressive, once it becomes clear

Kent Gray — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 12:15:12 +0000

By Kent Gray
Researching Khalid Yousuf’s Eisenhower Trophy record takes plenty of perseverance and a dash of detective work.

It transpires the UAE national team captain is known regionally as Khalid Yousuf (including in every Emirates Golf Federation media release we’ve ever received) and was listed as such for his first four appearances at the World Amateur Teams Championship.

But it turns out the +1.3 handicapper’s actual surname is Al Jasmi, the moniker by which he goes on social media and has been listed as in his past two appearances at the biennial Eisenhower championship.

Confused? So were we (apologies Khalid!). But we got there in the end and can confirm that when the 29-year-old tees it up at Carton House in Ireland tomorrow in the 31st Eisenhower Trophy, it will mark his seventh appearance at the world’s premier teams’ championship.

Smooth as silk … I wish #golf #dubai #uae

A post shared by KAJ (@khalid_al_jasmi) on May 5, 2016 at 9:51am PDT

I should have come here years ago #heavenonearth

A post shared by KAJ (@khalid_al_jasmi) on Sep 3, 2018 at 11:51am PDT

And that, once you finally nut it out, is mightily impressive as the UAE have only contested the Eisenhower Trophy nine times in total.

Yousuf/Al Jasmi has played 21 rounds in his six appearances (three times the event was reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather, thus the usual number of rounds) since his debut as a 14-year-old in Puerto Rico in 2004. His best score was a 71 in his last round – in Japan in 2014 – while he boasts an average of 79.71.

He’ll hope to bring his personal average down further in Ireland where the UAE are out to better their previous Eisenhower best of 50th place at the 2008 tournament in Adelaide.

“This event not only allows me but the rest of the UAE National golf program the opportunity to compete at the highest level against some the games future stars,” Yousuf/Al Jasmi said.

“This gives our team the chance to meet other golfers from around the world while making connections with other federations that we can use to help develop our program in the UAE.”

Yousuf/Al Jasmi didn’t play two years ago but lefty Ahmed Skaik and Saif Thabet are back from Mexico where the UAE finished 65th.

UAE’S TOP NATIONAL GOLFERS DUBLIN BOUND FOR THE WORLD AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – @IGFgolf – https://t.co/bl1zgefVjL pic.twitter.com/URHNaJI7pA

— Emirates Golf Fed. (@EGFuaegolf) September 4, 2018

Thabet, now 30 and playing off scratch, was the UAE’s best in Mexico, firing rounds of 86-78-80-78 to finish 36 over par in 174th place individually, two strokes better than now 21-year-old +2.2 handicapper Skaik.

Yousuf/Al Jasmi leads the UAE off on Wednesday on Carton House’s O’Meara layout (the 72-hole strokeplay event will also be played on the Montgomerie course) at 1.21pm local time (4.21pm UAE time). Skaik follows 11 minutes later at 4.32pm UAE time ahead of Thabet at 4.43pm UAE time.

For the record (why waste all that research) the UAE first played the Eisenhower Trophy in 2000 with Edward Hesson Jnr, Vikramjeet Singh Judge, Sung Joo Cho and Walid Al-Attar finishing 51st.

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