Abu dhabi // Khalid Yousuf, Abdulla Al Musharrekh and Faris Al Mazrui will be flying the UAE flag on Thursday against golfers from 71 nations in the 26th staging of the world amateur team championship - the Eisenhower Trophy . The prestigious four-day tournament has in the past attracted players like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods and offers a marvellous opportunity for the Emirati trio to test their skills against the world's leading amateur players.
Yousuf, the UAE's best home-produced golfer who plays off scratch, Musharrekh and Mazrui earned the right to travel to Adelaide, Australia by heading the list of qualifiers from recent heats held on the Jebel Ali Resort and Sharjah Shooting Club courses. They are aware that they are competing for pride rather than glory. Chris Vallender, the national team coach, has called for an improvement on the finishing position of 65th out of 70 on the last occasion the biennial showpiece took place in South Africa in 2006.
"I would like to look at success in a different way to some of the coaches of the leading nations," said Vallender, a native of South Africa. "This is only our fourth Eisenhower so it is a relatively new tournament for our guys. "Well-developed golf nations are looking for places in the top 10. I just want our guys to be competitive and play consistently in such a huge tournament. They are the best three players at the moment."
Vallender pointed out that Yousuf, still only 18, shot 72 in the final round in South Africa which was duly noted by other nationalities "That was an awesome achievement in a tournament of this stature," he remarked. "When you talk to people outside the country and tell them about that score they are impressed. It would be nice if he could produce something similar." Mazrui, 22, was also commended by Vallender for interrupting his degree course at the London School of Economics to fly from England to compete for a place in the UAE team.
"That illustrates the tremendous commitment that has been shown by players wanting to get into this team and that has to be an enormous positive for the future of golf in the country. Obviously, we would like to see greater competition for places [only nine took part], but we are working on that." Saeed al Budoor, the newly appointed general manager of the UAE Golf Association pressed home that last point. "We are here to help to promote golf and encourage more nationals to take up the sport," he said.
"Simply having the team participate at this high level is an accomplishment in itself. To have representation in the Eisenhower for the fourth time only 10 years after the setting up of our Junior Development Programme is great. "The UGA should have a team in all the competitions around the world, especially the major ones. The government is helping us by having the Desert Classic, the Abu Dhabi Championship and the Dubai Ladies Masters. Bringing the world here can only help in the development of our own players.
"We are moving forwards as a golf nation. As Dubai develops as the best destination for golf in the world, our association will surely benefit." The Eisenhower Trophy, which will be defended by The Netherlands, is decided on aggregate totals over four stroke play rounds with the best two of the three scores from each day counting. wjohnson@thenational.ae