Excitement is mounting as a record five UAE golfers prepare to compete at the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, taking place on the iconic Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club from 23–26 October 2025.
Leading the UAE’s challenge are Ahmad Skaik, Rayan Ahmad, Abdulla Kalbat, Jonathan Selvaraj and Sam Mullane as the prestigious tournament returns to the Emirates for only the second time, following its 12th edition at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club in 2021.
Ahead of the competition, four members of the UAE team gathered at Emirates Golf Club to address the local media, marking what promises to be a historic week at the Middle East’s first grass course. This year’s five-player line-up surpasses the previous record of four UAE participants in the Championship.
For Skaik, the week carries special significance. The 28-year-old is set to make his sixth appearance at the Championship – but it will also be his final event before turning professional. Skaik is no stranger to elite-level competition, having featured in the Dubai Desert Classic and Abu Dhabi Championship, and more recently competing in several HotelPlanner Tour events – where earlier this year he became the first Emirati to make the cut in 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 aim to make an impact in their Championship debuts. Mullane enters in strong form, with victories at the Montgomerie Golf Club Dubai Amateur Open and the 2025 Cedars Golf Championship, while Selvaraj has secured titles at World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) 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 complete the UAE line-up, both returning for their second appearances after debuting at last year’s Championship at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Japan, where Ahmad made the cut and finished 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.”
Established in 2009 by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was created to further develop amateur golf in the region.
The champion will earn an invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament and an exemption into The 154th Open; the runner(s)-up will receive a spot in The Open Qualifying Series; and the top three finishers will qualify for 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 its 15-year history, the Championship has served as a launchpad for top professionals such as Matsuyama, 2018 champion Takumi Kanaya, 2021 champion Keita Nakajima, Smith, Cameron Davis, Min Woo Lee, Ryan Fox, Si Woo Kim and C.T. Pan, whose alumni collectively have claimed 33 PGA Tour titles and more than 140 victories on major professional circuits.
The Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club, designed by Karl Litten and inaugurated in 1988 as the Middle East’s first grass course, is located just south of downtown Dubai and is renowned for its skyline views. It is also home to the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament won by legends such as Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els, the latter holding the course record of 61. Australia’s Lucas Herbert, an Asia-Pacific Amateur alumnus, won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2020 – five years after his last appearance at the Championship. Emirates Golf Club will host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship for the first time.