Scotland’s Sam Mukherjee, shot a final round of 66, for a 54-hole total of seven under par 209, to win the 2023 Abu Dhabi Amateur Golf Championship at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi.
The 18-year-old golfing talent from g Gullane Golf Club, in the heart of Scotland’s self-styled ‘Golf Coast’, won from Germany’s Thomas Schmidt (Germany) who was five shots back with a final round of 73.
Ireland’s Keith Egan, the second round leader Keith Egan, had a disappointing 76 last round and he had to settle for third place on level par.
Sam represented Scotland in the U17 Quads Team, as well as in the European Boys Team Championship and in the Home Internationals – all in 2022.
He has also just signed up for a golf scholarship at Duke University in North Carolina in the US.
It was a good week for the Mukherjee brothers, all three playing this week in Abu Dhabi.
Sam’s twin brother Oliver finished tied fourth on 218 and the youngest of the Mukherjee boys, Cameron, was one shot further back on 219 in sole seventh.
Sam started the final round three back of Egan and had three birdies on each nine and a clean card to go 33 – 33 for a 66, the best round of the day by five shots in the heat of the last round battle.
Sam’s three rounds were 73, 70 and 66 as he improved his score in each round.
The summary of Sam’s scoring for the tournament was: 14 birdies, seven bogeys and 33 pars.
With this tournament win Sam receives an invite for the Challenge Tour event here next year. It was also a World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) Men’s Qualifier, supported by The R&A.
Sam told Khaleej Times on completing his final round: “I really enjoyed the course this week, the greens were in perfect condition and the weather suited my game today.
“Hitting 17 greens today really helped the scorecard, so it was a nice stress free round. I cannot wait to come back to Saadiyat and compete in the UAE Challenge Tour event in April.”
Leading local players were Viktor Kofod-Olsen (Emirates Golf Club) and Nathan Seldon (Dubai Creek) alongside the current leader of the EGF Men’s Order of Merit, Jonathan Selvaraj (Trump International Golf Club) all tied eighth on four over par
Daniel Richards, Golf Services Manager, Abu Dhabi VIYA Cluster, told Khaleej Times: “We have had a very special few days at Saadiyat Beach, welcoming players from 14 countries as well as strong representation from the golf clubs in the UAE.
“We hope all players enjoyed the golf course. Well played to our 2023 champion Sam, especially for his last round 66 – with no bogeys – quite a remarkable day’s golf.”
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Final Scores (Par 72).
S. Mukherjee (Scot) 73. 70. 66. 209.
T. Schmidt (Ger) 71. 70. 73. 214.
K. Egan (Ire) 68. 72. 76. 216.
O. Mukherjee (Scot) 71. 75. 72. 218.
C. Coburn (RSA) 70. 76. 72. 218.
V. Pena Cortes (Spain) 71. 70. 77. 218.
C. J. Mukherjee (Scot) 69. 74. 76. 219.
V. Kofod-Olsen (EGC) 77. 72. 71. 220.
N. Seldon (Dubai Creek) 70. 75. 75. 220.
J. Selvaraj (Trump International GC, Dubai) 70. 76. 74. 220.
Z. Chegwidden (Eng) 72. 71. 77. 220.