Irish golfer Keith Egan (Carton House) shot an opening round of four under par 68 to lead the 54-hole Abu Dhabi Amateur Golf Championship at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi.
Egan had two matching nines of 34 – with a total of eight birdies – four bogeys and just six pars for a one stroke lead from Scotland’s CJ. Mukherjee.
Leading local players are Nathan Seldon (Dubai Creek) with an impressive 70, alongside current leader of the EGF Men’s Order of Merit Jonathan Selvaraj (Trump International). Also on 70 is Chad Coburn (RSA) who played alongside Seldon.
Seldon (+4), playing out of Dubai Creek, was three under par after six holes and following a ‘poor middle’ in his words, returned a solid scorecard to be tied third.
South African Coburn, 21 years-old, plays Division 2 scholarship golf at Qurtaba University in North Carolina and is visiting his parents in Abu Dhabi and decided to play the tournament whilst he was here.
The event is qualifier number six on the 2023 – 24 Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Men’s Order of Merit.
The winner of this week’s tournament will receive an invite for the Challenge Tour’s Saadiyat Beach tournament in April, 2024.
Daniel Richards, Golf Services Manager, Abu Dhabi Cluster, told Khaleej Times, “We are delighted to have attracted a full field of golfers from 16 countries as well as 13 golf clubs in the UAE plus EGF members.
As many as 23 players broke 75 in today’s first round which shows the quality of the field. We look forward to a further two days of excellent golf at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.’
Leading First Round Scores (Par 72).
K. Egan (Ire) 68.
C. J. Mukherjee (Scot) 69.
N. Seldon (Dubai Creek) 70.
C. Coburn (RSA) 70.
J. Selvaraj (Trump International, Dubai) 70.