In extremely windy conditions the talented UAE National team and Dubai Creek member had to dig deep after starting bogey, double bogey but showed great character and played the next 15 holes in level par inclusive of two birdies and bogeys. Al Musharrekh held his nerve on the 18th hole with the howling crosswind coming in off the Creek and safely negotiated a bogey to score an amazing gross 75, +4 over par to win by a clear four shots.

Al Musharrekh commented, “Thank you to all the players for taking part today and my two playing partners made it an enjoyable round. A big thank you to my brother Ahmed who caddied for me and he was a great contribution towards this win. Thanks to Al Naboodah and wasl for sponsoring the Junior Open and with our there support this event would not have been possible. Also thank you to David and Alan at the Creek for organising the event and with Rob Gradishar and his team ensuring the course was in excellent shape for the day.”

Paul Forrester, Dubai resident was representing his home country Australia finished runner up with a gross 79, +8. Philip Urasch, scratch golfer from Emirates Golf Club finished alone in third with his score of gross 80, +9.

In the boys division ‘A’ Harley Knight (EGC) claimed top spot with a net 74 with Dubai Creek’s Paul Saad finishing in second with a net 76. Third place fell to Ronan Hall (ADCGC) with his net 78. In the boys division ‘B’ Dubai Creek’s Rishad Lakdawala scored a superb net 66 to win only by one shot from fellow member Christopher Saad who finished with net 67. Sean Therney (ADCGC) finished in third place with net 72. In the girls division local knowledge helped all three winners with Creek members Shloka Desai claiming top spot with a net 66, runner up Diya Chopra with net 72 and Akila Raghavan finished in third place with a net 78 by virtue of her better back nine.

David Gray, Golf Operations Executive at Dubai Creek commented, “It was great to see Al Musharrekh put together such a great round and handle the pressure down the tough closing stretch as it was a very difficult day for golf with the howling wind. A very well deserved win and now the third U.A.E National to win the Dubai Creek Junior Open following in the footsteps of Khalid Yousef and Nabil Sharif. Thank you again to Al Naboodah for sponsoring for the event for the third year and also to wasl for coming on board to make the event even stronger. Their support is greatly appreciated and we witnessed nearly forty juniors taking part, a significant increase from last year. With wasl’s added help we significantly reduced the entry fees to ensure all juniors with a valid handicap can play and make the event the premier and best value EGF order of merit junior open in the region. With all the regions golf clubs junior initiatives we can already see many new talents shining through and the future looks very bright for junior golf in the U.A.E.