Abdullah Al Musharrekh (left) and Ahmed Skaik at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore ahead of Thursday’s opening round. 

By Kent Gray
The ultimate prize is dreamy – not only a start in the Masters at Augusta National but also an invite to the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush next July. But for the UAE’s Ahmed Skaik and Abdullah Al Musharrekh, simply making the 36-hole cut at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (ACC) in Singapore this week would be a huge win.

The duo are both playing their second AAC’s at Sentosa Golf Club with Skaik off the 10th tee in his first round at 12.40pm (8.40am UAE time) on Thursday, 10 minutes ahead of Musharrekh who in turn goes off five minutes before Dubai-domiciled Indian No.1 Rayhan Thomas begins his legitimate title challenge from the 1st tee.

Skaik missed the cut at Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand last year but has now finished his International Studies degree from the American University of Dubai which allows golf to take over as his top priority again. The big picture for the 21-year-old is to represent the UAE at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, meaning a professional career beckons. The AAC is a learning curve along the way to the paid ranks.

“It’s not been a very good season for me as the focus was more on studies,” Skaik said. “But I am now done and have started concentrating on my golf again. This is the biggest event we play all year and I have tried to prepare with it in mind.

“I have a few important events after this like the Pan Arab Games, so I am hoping all my hard work will pay off, starting this week.”

Rayhan Thomas, the Dubai-based Indian No.1, tees it up in practice at Sentosa G.C.
Photo by Joy Chakravarty

The first step is to survive Friday’s halfway cut, no cinch given the calibre of the field assembled for the 10th edition of the event, considered among the top five amateur events globally. The 120-player field is annually comprised of the top male amateurs from the 41 Asia Pacific Golf Confederation member organisations.

“The level here is pretty high. And as I said, I haven’t been playing regularly earlier in the year. But I know that if I play to my potential, I can post a good result this week,” Skaik said.

Musharrekh has just returned from South America where he was working with Abu Dhabi-based investment company Mubadala for the past four years. He played in the inaugural AAC in 2009 and need only look as far as his younger brother for motivation. Ahmed Al Musharrekh holds the record of best finish by a UAE golfer in the AAC (T-24 at even par), coincidently when Singapore last hosted the tournament in 2011.

“Ahmed played very well that year. He was very consistent and shot two sub-par rounds. That was one of the proudest moments for UAE golf. And yes, that gives me motivation,” said Abdullah.

“I was busy with my career with Mubadala and then did my national service. Golf wasn’t a priority for almost four-five years. But I am now back in the UAE and I want to be part of the national team on a regular basis.

“I am a very competitive person, so I know golf is not going to be a simple leisure sport for me.”

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was created in February 2009 as a joint initiative to develop the game by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and The R&A. Yuxin Lin, at 17, became the third AAC champion from China after finishing with a birdie and eagle in the final round to win by three strokes at Royal Wellington last year.