Abu Dhabi Golf Club is all set for round one of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship which tees off on Wednesday on the National Course.
Organised by the R&A, APGC and sanctioned by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF), tee times have been published with the first ball to be struck in round one by home player Hamad Al Suwaidi at 7.30am.
Tee times for round one and two will be by on a two-tee start basis from tees 1 and 10, from 7.30am to 9.42am in three balls.
The leading players expected to be in contention at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week on Saturday include Youmin Hwang of South Korea and Xiaowen Yin of China, who are ranked fourth and seventh respectively in the current women’s world amateur golf ranking.
The host UAE team comprises 17-year-old Alia Al Emadi and 36-year-old Hamda - who have both been a regular part of the national team - plus India’s 17-year-old Natalii Gupta and 16-year-old Hannah Cheryl Alan, who have been nominated by the EGF to play under the UAE flag.
April Varney, EGF UAE National Women’s Golf Coach said: “All four of our players are very excited to be part of such a significant event on the women’s global golf calendar. Women’s golf in Asia is where it all seems to be happening at the moment when you look at the Rolex World Women’s Golf Rankings for the professionals. All our players know the National Course well, having hosted the Presidents Cup on the EGF calendar many times. However, the tees for this week are placed much further back than the tees we usually play from. The participation numbers in our EGF ladies golf programme have tripled over the last three years and we are encouraging all players from the programme to attend and to support the UAE players this week as well as watch all the other golfing stars from Asia and enjoy and all learn from the experience.”
Andrea Faldella, Club Operations Manager of Abu Dhabi Golf Club added: “We are all set for the tournament. Thanks especially must go to Dean Deyer, our Golf Course Superintendent, who has set up the golf course according to all The R&A requirements. Abu Dhabi Golf Club is excited with everything this week, let’s hope the weather stays fair.”
The four days of the championship will be broadcast live for four hours from 10am-2pm (UAE time) on TV across the Middle East region, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, Australasia, North and Latin America.
