Akram Skaik, Director General, Emirates Golf Federation; Khalid Yousuf, Dubai Golf Trophy Amateur Team captain; Michael Major, Dubai Golf Trophy Professional Team captain; Christopher May, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Golf
By Matt Smith
The Dubai Golf Trophy, one of the biggest events in the UAE golfing calendar, is back, and the May 8-9 event takes place on the Championship course at Dubai Creek, ahead of the second day on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club.
The Ryder Cup-style tournament, now in its 23rd year, pits the UAE’s top 16 professional players against the top 16 amateurs in the region and was originally launched by Dubai Golf – owner and operator of some the nation’s top golf clubs. Each team consists of 12 automatic qualifiers from the season-long UAE PGA tournaments and qualifying Emirates Golf Federation events across the UAE. Both team captains have an additional four ‘wildcard’ picks, and two ladies are selected to compete in the Dubai Golf Trophy Ladies Challenge Match to complete both sides.
This year, the amateur team is gunning for seven victories in a row, having claimed another convincing victory last year at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Khalid Yousuf will captain this year’s amateur team, while Michael Major from Dubai Creek will lead the professionals in a non-playing capacity.
“I am delighted to be the captain for the professional team, it’s a proud moment,” Major said. “We have a strong team this year, but of course we continue to be underdogs until we manage to regain the trophy back from the amateur side.”
Yousef added: “It’s a great honour to captain the amateur team this year as I have been involved in the Dubai Golf Trophy for over 15 years. The team is looking very strong this year and we are hoping to continue the amateur run. The pro team is also looking very good this year and we are all looking forward to some tight games over the weekend”.
Christopher May, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Golf, said: “The Dubai Golf Trophy was founded on the principle of raising the profile of golf in the region and bringing both amateur and professional golfers from clubs all over the UAE together in a competitive and enjoyable format. The tournament provides a focus for players to aim for throughout the qualifying events counting towards EGF and UAE PGA Order of Merits during the season, and culminating in a season-ending spectacle on two of the finest courses in the region. Best of luck to both teams.”
Official Schedule
Sunday
Championship course, Dubai Creek Golf Club
7am Foursomes
12:30pm Fourballs
Monday
Majlis course, Emirates Golf Club
11am Singles
Teams
Professionals
Non-playing captain: Michael Major
Louis Gaughan
Sujjan Singh
Steven Munro
Graham Forbes
Michael Bolt
Tom Buchanan
Purna Sharma
Ryan Smith
Oscar Yeomans
Thomas Ogilvie
Sam McLaren
Luke Plumb
Jackson Bell
Olivia Jackson
Nathan Kernaghan
Jack Woods
Lea Pouillard
Ginger Delacretaz
Amateurs
Captain: Khalid Yousef
Craig Vance
Toby Bishop
Jay Mullane
Yash Majmudar
Ali Parlane
Hugo Garcia
Sam Mullane
Max Burrow
Raghav Gulati
Tom Nesbitt
Jonathan Selvaraj
Dan Byrne
Ahmed Waheed
Barry Pavic
David Guinee
Liang Wei Lui
Jamie Rosalyn Camero
