Dubai, United Arab Emirates: General Abdulla Al Hashmi, President of the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) and incoming Vice Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), was in upbeat mood describing next week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), despite a late-night flight from Morocco.
The excitement building up for the 16th edition of the championship was a major factor, as was the fact that the 63-year-old shot a ‘dream round’ of four-under-par playing at the famous Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam a day earlier.
General Abdulla has been instrumental in securing several elite amateur tournaments for the UAE over the past four years, including this January’s Bonallack Trophy and Patsy Hankins Trophy (Asia-Pacific versus Europe) and the 2023 World Amateur Team Championships. He was also a key member of the EGF team that assisted in bringing the AAC to Dubai for the first time in 2021.
And he’s confident this year’s AAC, to be played at the Majlis Course of Emirates Golf Club from October 23-26, will inspire and make UAE junior golfers fall in love with the sport just like him.
“I think my own experience is a good example of what golf can do to you. I had played a variety of sports growing up, but once I started playing golf, I was hooked,” said General Abdulla, a former fighter pilot in the UAE Air Force.
As someone who completely appreciates the importance of the upward thrust needed for any plane to take off, General Abdulla believes this year’s AAC could be that force for golf in the Middle East.
“The 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur was important for us, but it came at a time when the world was going through a strange situation (Covid-19). What the UAE did that year was impress Augusta National Golf Club and The R&A with how good the facilities were in our country, how ready we were to host such big championships, and also with the way golf has developed in the UAE,” said General Abdulla, who was readying to lead the EGF at that time.
The UAE has long since hosted prominent professional events on the DP World Tour, but rarely any notable amateur events until 2021. General Abdulla and his team made it their mission to change that.
“When I took charge of the EGF, the Arab Federation countries were happy to just host the Pan-Arab Championship or the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Countries) Championship. Only Morocco was producing players who could make it to professional Tours,” said General Abdulla.
“After I attended the Eisenhower Trophy in France (in 2022), I thought we needed to change this and we needed to go international. We needed to produce champions by providing them pathways to progress to the next level. So, we also now host Challenge Tour and other development Tour events and have tie-ups with other nations through which our players are given spots in international events,” he added.
Another major step initiated by the EGF was to attract talent to the country by granting players UAE passports and providing them with all the facilities and opportunities that any UAE national player gets. Professional players like Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and England’s Josh Grenville-Wood, and amateurs like Jonathan Selvaraj, Sam Mullane and Rayan Ahmed now play under the UAE flag.
“Since they live here, some of them are born here, it seemed unfair that they were not getting the same opportunities to explore their abilities. It happens all over the world. Why can’t we do it?” said General Abdulla.
“All this, along with the work that we are doing at the EGF, has had a major impact. In the Arab world, we are now either number one or two [in golf development] along with Morocco. In Asian golf, we were ranked beyond 50 and now we are number 12. That’s the progress we have seen.
“This year, as the host nation, we have five players in the Asia-Pacific Amateur. That’s going to be so inspirational for all the other players. The impact will be huge.”
General Abdulla said he won’t be surprised if all of the UAE players make the cut.
He said: “For me, the best result would be if they all make the cut, and a couple of them are in contention on Sunday. I might be asking for too much, but I have full faith in them. It’s not an unreasonable expectation. They all know the golf course well, they are all prepared after a three-week camp in Morocco, and they are highly motivated.
“Our vision is to have a champion golfer from the UAE in maybe 10-15 years, and this year’s championship is going to be an important part of that plan.”
*Article by Joy Chakravarty - https://www.aacgolf.com/
