DUBAI // Ahmed Al Musharrekh, the Emirati who turned professional last month, has set himself a target of "two or three-under" par today to make the cut at the Sheikh Maktoum Dubai Open after opening with his best round of the Mena Tour.
The 22 year old has failed to contest the final round in his three previous events, but carded a 77 at Al Badia Golf Club yesterday to finish five-over par.
Al Musharrekh did acknowledge he was not overly happy with his first round performance, yet he still believes it leaves him enough of an opportunity to extend his stay this week to a third day.
"I'm still adapting to professional life but this round was an improvement," he said. "I came here determined to make the cut and I'm looking now to shoot two or three-under par to get myself through [to tomorrow]."
Al Musharrekh took heart from a conversation shared with Alvaro Quiros, last year's winner of the Dubai World Championship, at a special golf clinic conducted on Sunday at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
"It was really good being around Alvaro just to see how a top professional golfer carries himself," Al Musharrekh said. "He talked about the need to devote so much time to practice and that's something I'll really take from that."
Meanwhile, Al Musharrekh's compatriot, Saif Thabet, attributed his eight-over par to struggles with his short approach shots. "I couldn't quite maintain my accuracy from within 60 yards to the pin, so it means more time needed on the driving range," the amateur said. "But this is all still a learning curve for me and I'm enjoying it."
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us
@SprtNationalUAE
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The five pillars of Islam
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
