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.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
Europe’s rearming plan
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- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
World Mental Health Day
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
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Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
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Why it pays to compare
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Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
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Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company name: baraka
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Gurm, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Al Nafece, Al Muatasm Al Balushi, Mohammed Ramadan
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The%20specs
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5.10pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Turf); 1,800m
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6.20pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,800m
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6.55pm: Handicap; Dh185,000 (D); 1,600m
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7.30pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,200m
Winner: Riflescope; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
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