Ahmad Skaik is targeting multiple titles as a tour pro after a polished finish to his amateur career at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
The Emirati left-hander ended 13th in the region’s biggest amateur tournament, which had the prize of qualification for next year’s Masters and Open championships for its winner.
The 28-year-old UAE national team player only dipped out of the top 10 after a double-bogey seven at his 72nd hole left him on seven-under par for the tournament.
He led the way in a fine week for UAE players at Emirates Golf Club. Rayan Ahmed, who finished tied 24th, and Sam Mullane, who was tied 31st, also made the cut.
After those two finished their final rounds, they each headed out to watch the final few holes of their senior national team colleague.
Ahmad’s younger brother, Mohammed, who hit the opening shot of this event, and a variety of other of his friends and family were part of the gallery.
“I was thinking about it walking down the 17th fairway and was getting a little bit emotional,” Skaik said.
“It was possibly my last two holes as an amateur but I feel like I can play some DP World Tour events here or Challenge Tour, and I am still going to be in the circle.
“I am always going to be around them, supporting the national team, so I am very happy, and very grateful for the support I have got this week.”
Skaik said before the AAC that it would be his final event as an amateur. He might yet play the Arab Championship, or turn pro and play Q School in December.
Either way, his aspirations have already shifted to making his mark on tour.
“I am 28 years old; I feel like I have done enough as an amateur for the team, and for myself, and feel like the time is right,” he said.
“I want to win many times on the Asian Tour or the DP World Tour. It is an ending as an amateur but it feels like a start to my career.
“I feel like I have proved myself this week that I can hang with the best amateur players in the world and that I have got it in me.
“I feel like the best is yet to come and that I can improve a lot in many parts of my game. I am very excited for the future.”
He also hopes to help inspire young Emirati players. “They always call me ‘Captain’ when I play on the team, and I always try to be a good role model,” Skaik said of his teammates.
“So many youngsters come up to me and say they look up to me and they are proud to have me as a role model. That means a lot. It motivates me and makes me feel like I am doing a good job.”
The tournament itself had a thrilling conclusion. Fifa Laopakdee eventually won the chance to play at the 2026 Masters at Augusta and the Open at Royal Birkdale.
The 20-year-old, who is a student at college in the United States, required three extra play-off holes to end the challenge of Taisei Nagasaki.
The pair had finished the final round tied on 15-under. Nagasaki had started the day six shots clear of Laopakdee, but the Thai player reeled him in with an extraordinary back nine of five-under.
He became the first Thai winner of the competition, and is proud to have the chance to represent his country at arguably the two premier events in the sport next year.
“It means the whole world to me,” Laopakdee said. “To be able to pull it off feels amazing.
“I didn’t even know I shot five-under on the back nine. I tried to go out there and have a fun time with my caddie, and not think about it too much. It was just golf.
“All the Thai fans have been waiting such a long time for a Thai amateur or pro to go and compete at the Masters or the Open.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
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Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The President's Cake
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Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Infiniti QX80 specs
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
