Nomura Cup: Ahmed Skaik is driven by ambition in Abu Dhabi

Ambitious Skaik joins the senior ranks as the UAE prepare to host the Nomura Cup, writes Omar Al Raisi.

Emirati golfer Ahmed Skaik takes time out during a practice round at the Yas Links Golf Club yesterday. Antonie Robertson / The National

ABU DHABI // After winning successive GCC Championships, in 2013 and 2014, with the UAE junior side, the new challenge for Ahmed Skaik is to replicate that success with the senior team.

The Emirati, 18, is relishing his first chance to do just that as part of a UAE team competing against 26 other amateur teams from across Asia in the four-day Nomura Cup, which is being held at the Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, starting today.

Joining Skaik on the national team is Khalid Yousuf, one of the country’s best golfers, Rashid Hamood and Abdullah Al Qubasi. Skaik said he was relishing the chance to represent his country, but added that doing so on home soil increased the expectation on him and his teammates.

“This is the first tournament that includes all the Asian countries,” he said. “So it’s a step up for sure in terms of the quality of opponent.

“And to have the Nomura Cup at home soil, it’s something special. The pressure will be there, naturally, but I don’t like to predict, I just want to play my game and whatever happens. We will see.”

Skaik was not always an avid golfer. He said it was an invite from his golf-loving father to play a few holes with him just over four years ago that sparked his love for the game.

“When I was a kid, I used to play a lot of football, but my Dad has always been a passionate golf lover,” he said. “About four and half years ago he asked me, ‘Why don’t you come and join me?’ I decided why not go along with my dad.

“I went with him to Montgomerie Golf Club in Dubai, where he plays, and there was something calm but exciting at the same time about golf. Since then, I fell in love with the sport.”

After making the step up to the senior national team, the American University of Dubai student’s next ambition is to turn professional and help grow the sport of golf in the UAE.

“I know that I have to work really hard, I have to study hard to finish university and then go to United States, get a scholarship at a big university and develop my game there.”

To achieve that Skaik knows he will need to put in hard work, something, he says, he will not shy away from.

“Everyday I wake up early in the morning, I stretch, I do yoga,” he said. “When I have lectures at the university I play golf and train in the evenings and when I don’t have university I train in the morning. I work on my drive, my putting, and different positional techniques. Basically everything that helps me improve my game.

“Golf is a tough sport but I really enjoy it. When I go and practice I don’t feel like it’s work, I love the game so it’s just fun for me.”

Skaik grew up watching Tiger Woods dominate the sport, but his heroes have since changed.

“When I first started playing the game, I looked up to Tiger Woods, he was the best,” he said. “I still like him but he’s been out of form since a long time. Now I like Phil Mickelson because we both are left-handed.

“I think Jordan Spieth is the best right now, but (Rory) McIlroy, if he recovers with his injury completely, I think he will be at the top again.

“In the UAE it’s my teammate Khalid Yousuf. But I always tell him that I will be better than him in a few years and he says, ‘We will see’.”

Skaik said he believes the development of golf is on the right track in the UAE but more could be done with at grass-roots levels to encourage more young Emiratis to take up the sport.

“They are getting there,” he said. “Lots of juniors between 10 to 14 years old are coming up through the system.

“The Emirates Golf Federation have been going to the schools in the UAE to hold conventions and get the kids interested about golf, but I think it should be added into the curriculum, if that is possible.”

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