Skaik sits inside top 10 on historic day for UAE at Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

The UAE’s Ahmad Skaik heads into the weekend of the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship inside the top ten after fighting back impressively on a historic day for UAE golf at Emirates Golf Club.

Following an impressive four-under-par 68 in Thursday’s opening round, expectations were high for Skaik to post another low score on home soil, particularly after his pre-tournament assertion that he was in the best form of his career.

Those hopes took an early blow when the 28-year-old stumbled to three bogeys in his opening six holes.

A birdie at the 8th offered brief respite, but another dropped shot at the 9th - the same hole where he suffered a double bogey on Thursday - threatened to derail his round entirely.

However, buoyed by the form that saw him post a record score at the GCC Golf Championship earlier this year, Skaik mounted an impressive comeback on the back nine. Birdies at the 13th, 15th and 18th - the latter accompanied by a celebratory fist pump - secured an even-par 72 and kept him at four-under-par for the tournament in a tie for 10th place.

“It felt amazing to be honest (getting back to even par for the day)”, said Skaik.

“It’s a different round from yesterday. It’s crazy to say that I shot 4 under yesterday and felt deflated after the round and today I shot level and I feel like I just shot 6 under.

“But I struggled today with everything, off the tee, irons just putting myself in wrong spots. The pins were tucked. I was in the rough deep and I put it out to 20 feet and I was missing putts, so, it was a really tough day. I had to dig deep and I’m happy to finish level par today.”

UAE golf fans had even more reason to celebrate as the sun set on the Majlis Course on Friday evening. Sam Mullane and Rayan Ahmed both joined Skaik in making the cut, marking the first time in the championship’s history that multiple UAE players have advanced to the weekend at the same edition.

Prior to Friday’s second round, only three UAE players had made the cut since the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2009. But as play concluded on the home of the Dubai Desert Classic, that number doubled in a single day, with Mullane, Skaik and Ahmed all finishing inside the cutline to secure their places in Saturday’s third round.

Mullane sits in a share of 19th place after his opening two rounds, while Ahmed will begin his weekend in a share of 42nd.

“It just shows how we’re growing,” said Skaik.

“Three in how many years and now in the same year, three. Just shows how the game is evolving. It is growing outside but I want it to grow more locally with local players. Happy to see the local players do this and hopefully we can get closer to the leaders tomorrow and have a chance on the last day.”

Skaik sits seven shots off the lead, which is held by Japan’s Rintaro Nakano, first-round co-leader Khanh Hung Le of Vietnam, and Australia’s Harry Takis on 11 under.

A year after finishing two strokes shy of victory last year in his home country, Nakano closed with a birdie at the par-5 18th to reach 11 under.

“Yeah, I didn’t play well on the front nine and started to feel a bit uneasy,” said Nakano, who is hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Japanese Asia-Pacific Amateur champions Hideki Matsuyama, Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima. “But I made the eagle on the 13th hole again, so I got my confidence back.”

Le, a 17-year-old University of Illinois commit, is seeking to become the first Vietnamese player to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur. With a win, he would earn an invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament and an exemption to The 2026 Open. He would become the first Vietnamese player to make an appearance in either major.

“I feel like I’m grateful to be here and I’m just really appreciating the journey and the experience for this year, the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai,” said Le, who made his debut with a T-24 finish in 2023 but missed last year’s Championship after having visa issues. “I just want to enjoy every moment.”