Abu Dhabi (Etihad)
Starting today, for two weeks, Abu Dhabi Golf Club will host the strongest golf competitions in the world, with the launch of the 33rd Eisenhower Cup World Championship for Men, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East.
The Golf Federation, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and the event partner, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, will host the two world championships for amateur teams, starting with the men’s championship “Eisenhower Cup” from October 18 to 21, while the women’s world championship “Espirito Santo Cup” will be held. The following week, from 25 to 28 October.
Teams from 36 countries from all over the world are competing in this prestigious event, and Italy aims to become the first team to successfully defend the title in the World Championship since the United States of America did so in 2012 and 2014, and it is participating again with a strong American squad with the trio of… Nick Dunlap, David Ford and Gordon Sargent were all part of the 2023 Walker America’s Cup team that defeated Britain and Ireland last month at the Old Ground in St Andrews.
Dunlap won the 123rd US Open at Cherry Hills Country Club last August, joining Tiger Woods as the only men to win US Junior and Amateur titles. As for Sargent, he was one of the most prominent players in the 2023 US Amateur Championship at Los Angeles Country Club, and was awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal of Honor in August as the best amateur player in the world.
However, the top amateur player in the world rankings will be present at the two-year tournament, in South Africa’s Christo Lambrecht, who won the 2023 Amateur Championship at Hillside and was the top amateur player in the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in the same year.
He will be joined in Abu Dhabi by his colleagues Alten van der Merwe and Christian Maas, who was runner-up in the 2023 Western Amateur Championship, and won the 2022 England Stroke Open (Brabazon Cup) by five strokes from the runner-up, becoming the sixth South African player to win the title.
Ahmed Sukayk will lead the Emirati team, which is participating for the fourth time in a row in the World Amateur Team Championship with the Emirates.
Sakik, the best amateur golfer in the UAE, has participated in the Abu Dhabi Championship on the DB World Tour three times, which was previously held at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, and is a three-time President’s Cup champion.
Rayan Ahmed and Thomas Nesbitt complete the Emirati trio, with the latter winning the title twice at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club Championship.
Major General Pilot “M” Abdullah Al Hashemi, Vice President of the Golf Federation, said: “The international organizing committee of the tournament, along with the local organizing committee, have made tireless efforts over the past 12 months to ensure that the UAE is fully prepared to become the first country in the Middle East to host the prestigious world championship.” For amateur teams, and under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the Golf Association, we in Abu Dhabi and the Emirates Golf Association look forward to hosting the best amateur golfers in the world here at Abu Dhabi Golf Club during the next two weeks.”
He added: “I would like to thank our partners in the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, for their support and contribution in making this tournament possible.”
He concluded: “Finally, I would like to thank the governing bodies of golf, the International Golf Federation, the Old Club Organization, and the US Golf Association for their confidence in the United Arab Emirates to host this prestigious tournament, and our mission is to continue developing the sport of golf in the Middle East.”
For his part, Anthony Scanlon, Executive Director of the International Golf Federation, said: “The World Amateur Team Championship has a rich competitive history, and gives players from all over the world the opportunity to join together to celebrate this game that we all love.”
He added: “On behalf of the International Golf Federation, the US Golf Association, and the Old Club Organization, we thank the Emirates Golf Association and the Abu Dhabi Al-Radi Council for their distinguished efforts in hosting the first edition of this tournament in the Middle East. We look forward to influencing and developing in the future and enhancing the opportunities for practicing golf in the Emirates, and we know “Abu Dhabi will provide a wonderful and inspiring platform for the best amateur players in the world over the next two weeks.”
The tournament competitions will begin at 6:30 Abu Dhabi time, where Sakik, captain of the UAE national team, will start with Finland’s Markus Luoma and David M from Zimbabwe at the tenth hole, and Juan Ricardo Davia (Guatemala) and Bastien Amat (France) / Callum Scott (Scotland) from the tenth hole. .
2023-10-17 22:44:01
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