DUBAI: Five UAE players will compete at the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship taking place on the Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club from Oct. 23 to 26, the organizers announced recently.
Ahmad Skaik, Rayan Ahmad, Abdulla Kalbat, Jonathan Selvaraj and Sam Mullane will lead the UAE challenge as the championship returns to the UAE for the second time, following the 12th edition at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club in 2021.
Ahead of the tournament, four of the UAE contingent gathered at Emirates Golf Club to speak to local media, marking what promises to be a record-breaking week at the Middle East’s first grass course.
The five-player lineup surpasses the previous record of four UAE participants in the championship.
For Skaik, this year carries extra significance. The 28-year-old will make his sixth appearance in the event, but it will also be his final outing before turning professional.
He is no stranger to the elite stage, having teed up at the Dubai Desert Classic and Abu Dhabi Championship. He recently competed on invitations at several HotelPlanner Tour events, where earlier this year he became the first Emirati to make the cut for a European Tour group-sanctioned tournament.
“Tournaments like the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship have been pivotal in my journey as an amateur and have played a huge role in preparing me to turn professional after this event,” said Skaik.
“I’ve had plenty of fantastic memories at the championship, including becoming only the second Emirati to make the cut when it was last staged in the UAE, as well as hitting the opening tee shot that year.
“It feels like a fitting farewell to my amateur career to be joined by a record five participants representing the UAE at Emirates Golf Club for my final appearance in the championship. Hopefully we can all enjoy a great week.”
Mullane and Selvaraj will both be looking to make an impression as they make their championship debuts.
Mullane has enjoyed a strong year, with wins at the Montgomerie Golf Club Dubai Amateur Open and the 2025 Cedars Golf Championship, while Selvaraj has claimed victories at World Amateur Golf Ranking events in Morocco and the UAE.
“I’m excited to tee it up for the first time in such a prestigious championship,” said Mullane.
“We’ve heard a lot about the tournament from Ahmad, Rayan and Abdulla, so I’m just looking forward to getting out there and playing with some of the best amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Selvaraj added: “I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. It’s always been a goal of mine to compete in this championship. To now have the opportunity to do it in the UAE, on such an iconic course, is going to be very special.”
Kalbat and Ahmad, both 18, complete the quintet, making their second championship appearances after debuting at last year’s tournament at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Japan, where Ahmad made the cut before finishing T49.
“To make the weekend on my first championship start was something I had dreamed about,” said Ahmad.
“To now have the chance to back that up and try to climb higher on the leaderboard at this year’s edition, here at home in the UAE, is an opportunity I’m going to grab with both hands.”
Kalbat added: “Although I missed the cut last year, I learned so much from competing with the region’s best amateur golfers. I’ve used that experience as a learning curve, and it will put me in good stead heading into this year’s edition at Emirates Golf Club.”
Created in 2009, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was established by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, The R&A and the Masters Tournament, to develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region.
The champion will receive an invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament and an exemption into The 154th Open; the runner(s)-up will receive an exemption into The Open Qualifying Series; and the top-three finishers will receive an exemption to The 131st Amateur Championship.
Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith.
Over the championship’s 15-year history, it has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players.
The players who made it include Matsuyama, 2018 champion Takumi Kanaya, 2021 champion Keita Nakajima of Japan, Smith, Cameron Davis and Min Woo Lee of Australia, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, the Republic of Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan.
Collectively, alumni of the Asia-Pacific Amateur have gone on to win 33 tournaments on the PGA Tour, and more than 140 events across major professional tours.
