Faris Al Mazrui triumphed in the 20th edition of the Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup with 34 stableford points.
Forty competitors took to the Faldo Course at Emirates Golf Club to compete for the prestigious trophy in the event’s 20th anniversary and it was Al Mazrui who came out on top by a one-point margin from his closest challenger Ahmed Skaik.
Al Mazrui, a six-handicapper, produced 16 points on the front nine including six straight pars from the first hole.
The key to his narrow victory was a fabulous birdie three on the 429-yard par-four 18th hole. His gross birdie earned him four points for that hole and the title.
Skaik signed for 33 points and also bagged the prize for the Best Junior. Omar Thabit carded 32 points and was the first runner-up, while Sohail Al Marzouqi was one point further back.
Khalid Yousuf continued his high level of performance in this championship with a gross 77 to take home the best gross award.
“The year marks the 20th edition of Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup and the tournament has grown popular among UAE National golfers since 1995," said Salah Tahlak, Senior Vice- President, Corporate Communications of Dubai Duty Free.
Our thanks to all our participants and to my team at Dubai Duty Free and to the Emirates Golf Club for their efforts in ensuring a great day was had by all.”
Also in the prizes were Saif Thabet, who won the longest drive on the 16th hole. Rashid Hamood picked up the nearest to the pin trophy on the par-three eighth.
At the prize presentation, the winners were joined by Dubai Duty Free’s Executive Vice Chairman, Colm McLoughlin, Salah Tahlak, Sinead El Sibai, V-P Marketing, and Rashid Al Jarwan, Emirates Golf Federation board member.
Dyball wins Captains Day
Another event held recently at Emirates Golf Club was the Lady Captains Day, which was played at the adjacent Majlis course.
Lady Captain Barbara Head started the day with the opening tee shot and the participants had great fun around the modified Majlis course.
Various alternative versions of the holes put together included a nearest to the pin with a throw on the seventh hole and green keepers revenge with tractors in the middle of the fairway on hole 10.
Taking the top honours in the popular event was Chris Dyball with a great score of 42 points. There was a close contest for the runner-up spot, with Veronica Elias and Janet Curtis both finishing on 41 points. Janet was awarded the second place on a better back nine.
Doha leg of Xerox Corporate Golf on Saturday
One of the oldest corporate golf tournaments in the region, the Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge (XCGC) has announced that the third qualifying round of the tournament will take place on Saturday, May 10 at the Doha Golf Club.
As with previous qualifiers, the XCGC will consist of two-player teams where the winning team will enter the two-day grand final to be hosted mid-December this year at Ras Al Khaimah’s Tower Links Golf Club and Al Hamra Golf Club courses along with overnight stay in the magnificent Waldorf Astoria.
New dates for BMW Skills Challenge announced
The next rounds of the BMW Skills Challenge at Jumeirah Golf Estates will take place at its European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) on Saturday, May 17 and Thursday, May 22.
The event, which is played throughout 2014, culminates in a grand final which takes place immediately before the 2014 staging of the DP World Tour Championship (November 20-23).
The BMW Skills Challenge runs over a series eight qualifying rounds between April and October. During each of these qualifying rounds, up to 10 teams will pit their golf skills over a series of challenges including pitching, bunker play, chipping, putting, driving accuracy and length.
Summer rates announced for EGC’s Faldo course
Emirates Golf Club have announced their summer rates for the Faldo course, which have already been implemented.
Until September 30, the rack rate for 18 holes at Faldo course has been fixed at Dh400. For night golf, it will be Dh425. For Emirates Golf Federation members, the corresponding rates will be Dh320 and Dh340.
Anand and Nelly combine well
Anand Lakhiani and Nelly Amarnani gelled together in brilliant fashion to win the Indian Golfers Society’s Summer Open tournament at Emirates Golf Club.
Showing impressive composure from the word go, the duo returned a sizzling net 62.2 to take the honours, beating their nearest challengers Sergy D’Souza and Caji Mendonca (net 62.9) by a narrow margin of 0.7 points. Balvinder Sandhu and Anil Shivanna were third on net 64.8.
Sponsored by Bentley, the season-ending event of the society, which followed the popular two-man Texas Shamble stroke-play, attracted a full field.
Players were also rewarded for their accuracy off the tee with Gurmeet Johan taking the straightest drive prize on the fifth while Joseph Andrade and Vivek Sharma walked away with the nearest to the pin honours on the 16th and seventh holes respectively.
Mukesh Kochar took the Nearest to the Pin prize in two shots (on the 16th hole) as Surjit Namli and Chanchal Nanda showed their driving prowess and power off the tee, winning the longest drive prizes on the third and 12th holes.
