The UAE Pan Arab Championship team. EGF

The Arab Golf Federation is hosting the 42nd Pan Arab Men’s Golf Championship in Casablanca, Morocco, starting today.

Representing the UAE are Khalid Yousuf, Ahmad Skaik, Rashed Al Emadi, and Mohammed Skaik.

Organised by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation, the event will be held at Casa Green Golf Club in Casablanca and will see 13 nations  — represented by teams of four players — compete in both team and individual competitions.

The Championship is run over three rounds with the three lowest scores counting towards the team score.

Traveling with Team UAE are Emirates Golf Federation Vice Chairman Abdulla Alhashmi, General Secretary Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi, and General Director Akram Skaik. Captain Yousuf and UAE’s No. 1 amateur Ahmad Skaik will team up with two young talents in Al Emadi and Mohammed Skaik.

“My team and I are looking forward to this event,” said Yousuf. “It’s a great event and we look at it as one of the signature events in the calendar because we are all very proud to represent the UAE. I am very confident that our team will be finishing on the podium as Ahmad and Rashid are in good shape with their game coming off having the experience playing some Challenge Tour events.”

Ahmad Skaik. EGF

After playing five European Challenge Tour events in the past three months, Ahmad Skaik will be looking forward to teeing it up against his fellow amateur golfers.

“it feels very good to be back playing in the Men’s Arab Championship after three months of Challenge Tour events,” he said. “I learnt a lot from my travels and especially from playing on European courses. The experience much tighter course should give me a lot of confidence for this week in Casablanca. I’m starting to feel that my game is on the right track, and it is a matter of time before everything is clicking. It’s always a privilege to compete for the UAE National Team and I think that we have the right squad this week to do well.”

Both Al Emdia and Mohammad Skaik are representing the UAE in back-to-back Pan Arab Men’s Golf Championships.

“I hope that the experience I gained this year by training more and playing in the Abu Dhabi Challenge Tour will help me score well for the team and return home with a medal,” Al Emadi said.

Casa Green Golf Club is a 7,100-yard championship course, designed by architect Jeremy Pern.