@dubaicreekgolf #dubaicreekgolf Editor: Paula Savage
Summer – Issue #16
EDITORIAL
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ith the Holy Month of Ramadan now behind us, may I take this opportunity to wish all members, guests, friends and colleagues Eid Mubarak from all the team here at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. Well, summer is well and truly here, temperatures are soaring, humidity is fogging up the sun glasses and schools will soon be out for the holidays. However, rising temperatures have never stopped golfers from hitting the golf course. It may be the end of the official golf season, but there are still plenty of competitions lined up over the coming months – just be sure to stock up on the ice pops and cold towels. If you are not heading off for the summer months, rest assured there is plenty to keep you entertained here at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. Maybe now is the time to move indoors and concentrate on getting fit down in the Fit Lab gym, or honing your golfing skills with a few lessons before the start of the new season. Or why not get a 4 ball together to play 18 holes of golf on the simulator down at the Academy! Food and beverage promotions are available at all outlets to help keep you refreshed. This issue gives a final round up of all competitions played since the beginning of the year, plus a montage of photos which have never been seen of our winners galore – until now!! Have a great summer, whether you are in Dubai or elsewhere in the world, keep swinging, enjoy your golf and we look forward to seeing you again in September, ready for the new season.
Until then……
Paula Savage
GOLF ROUND UP MONTHLY MEDAL
LADIES MONTHLY MEDAL
JUNIOR MONTHLY MEDAL
sponsored by OMA Emirates January 2017 Winner Tobias Parkin Best Gross Adam Savage Div A Winner Mark Jolliffe Div B Winner Mansour Khodjasteh Senior Winner Navneet Chopra Ladies Winner Kristi Sealey
sponsored by Sofitel, Dubai Jumeirah Beach January 2017 Winner Kiyono Taniuchi Division A Elizabeth Agha Division B Shiba Wahid February 2017
sponsored by Dubai Duty Free January 2017 Winner Jacobo Fisas Best Gross Aashaka Desai Boy’s Winner Samuel de Souza Boy’s Runner-Up Shreyas Bawker Girl’s Winner Hyeonji Kang JDP Member Reema Al Heloo
February 2017 Winner Best Gross Div A Winner Div B Winner Senior Winner Ladies Winner
Joy Lirio Michael McGinley Ishwar Jodha Paul Rebeiro Navneet Chopra Hyeonji Kang
Winner Division A Division B March 2017
Mego Han Naema Maya Vijaya Brahmachary
March 2017 Winner Best Gross Div A Winner Div B Winner Senior Winner Ladies Winner
Beatrice Galeppini Michael McGinley Chris Cornwall Alok Pant Stephen Clarke Sun-Ok Jung
Winner Division A Division B April 2017
Mego Han Glory Xavier Vijaya Brahmachary
April 2017 Winner: Kevin Savage Best Gross: Bayhaan Lakdawala Div A Winner: Ishwar Jodha Div B Winner: Ashok Kumar
May 2017 Winner Best Gross Div A Winner Div B Winner Ladies 1st Net
Will Jones Edoardo Galeppini Ishwar Jodha Mohammed Al Musharrekh So Jung
February 2017 Winner Best Gross Boy’s Winner Boy’s Runner-Up Girl’s Winner JDP Member
Jacobo Fisas Aarnav Nath Shreyas Bawker Zandro Wulff Hannah Alan Obaid Al Heloo
March 2017 Winner Best Gross Boy’s Winner Boy’s Runner-Up Girl’s Winner JDP Member
Markus Nielsen Aarnav Nath Jacobo Fisas Shreyas Bawkar Hannah Alan Reema Al Heloo
Shreyas Bawker Markus Nielsen Aarnav Nath Ayub Sethi Ailsa Brannock Jehaan Nanavaty
Markus Nielsen Aarnav Nath Sandro Wulff Nikhil Bhatia Hannah Alan Ailsa Brannock
Winner Division A Division B May 2017
Mini Philip Maureen Platt Paula Savage
April 2017 Winner Best Gross Boy’s Winner Boy’s Runner-Up Girl’s Winner JDP Member
Winner Division A Division B
Paula Savage Lilian Yee Kiyono Taniuchi
May 2017 Winner Best Gross Boy’s Winner Boy’s Runner-Up Girl’s Winner JDP Member
LINKS GROUP PAIRS January 2017 Winners Runners-Up 3rd
Warren Panting & Vanessa North Edoardo & Beatrice Galeppini Tejan Fadlu-Deen & Jamel Shallop
February 2017 Winners Runners-Up 3rd
John Fellingham & Michael McGinley Ishwar & Yowan Jodha Glory Xavier & Hannah Alan
March 2017 Winners Runners-Up 3rd
Edoardo & Beatrice Galeppini Young Kook Kim & Sun-Ok Jung Ashok Sindhu & David Gowans
April 2017 Winners Runners-Up 3rd
Robert Platt & OB Sealey Julian Danby & Richard Hughes Matthias Trinler & Fahd Chaudhry
DUBAI CREEK CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
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ubai Creek Club Championship 2017 was held in February and was generously sponsored by J. Lindeberg. This 2 round, 36 hole strokeplay event is the most highly anticipated members event of the year and always produces some great performances. Close to 100 golfers competed for top honours as the Men’s and Ladies Club Championship was united into a single event for the first time. Round 1: In spite of tough conditions, defending champion Michael McGinley fired a superb score of 71 (level par) to take a 1 shot lead in the Championship over Bayhaan Lakdawala. After round 1 there was a three way tie for the Championship Vase - JP Fitzgerald, Ed Fearn and Mark Jolliffe all managed level par net scores of 71. Leading the Ladies Championship, by a convincing five shots, was Glory Xavier over Shiba Wahid and Beatrice Galeppini after a gross score of 85.
LADIES CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
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he final round of Ladies Club Championship was always going to be an upward battle for many of the field to claw back Glory’s healthy six shot lead, however it was Lady Captain Kristi Sealey who was leading this challenge. Kristi started the final round 7 shots behind Glory; however after a stellar first 9 holes found herself tied at the top with Glory. The final 9 holes however proved a different story; birdies on holes 4 and 5 ensured a stunning final
CAPTAINS TROPHY
May 2017 Winners Runners-Up 3rd
Matthias Trinler & Fahd Chaudry Matthew Pike & Jamie Hosie John Fellingham & Mike McGinley
Round 2: The final group consisted of Michael McGinley, Bayhaan Lakdawala, JP Fitzgerald and Mark Williams. Would Michael be able to hold off the challengers and claim his second Dubai Creek Men’s Club Championship title in as many years? After 12 holes JP and Mark both found themselves at 8 over par for 30 holes and struggled to keep up with the tough pace set by Michael and Bayhaan, suggesting it had turned into a two horse race for the closing holes. After a pair of bogeys on the first 7 holes of the back 9 for Michael, it was Bayhaan who found himself with
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aptains Trophy 2017 took place in April – a tournament designed by the 2015 Dubai Creek captains Joe Ghossoub and Harini White and the Members Consultative Committee. This exciting competition gives the chance for The Creek members to celebrate the Captaincy of our current captains Mansour Khodjasteh and Kristi Sealey, whilst letting members enjoy the friendly Texas Scramble format with the chance to win superb prizes thanks to the event sponsors Seawings, BMW, Cruxton Travel and Crystal Gallery. MMI also supported the evening entertainment, ensuring the day was
9 holes of 40 shots from Glory. Finishing with a routine par on her final hole, Glory was crowned the 2017 Dubai Creek Ladies Club Champion. Kristi finished in second place 6 shots behind Glory. Meanwhile the Ladies Net prize was awarded to Shiba Wahid after her 4 shot victory over Maureen Platt, who was awarded the second placed prize.
DUBAI CREEK CUP
a 2 shot lead with 3 holes to play of the 2017 Men’s Club Championship. As Michael held strong in the high winds on arguably the toughest closing stretch of holes in the UAE, finishing on 4 over par for the 36 hole championship, Bayhaan bogied his final 3 holes meaning the 2017 Men’s Club Championship was heading for a play-off down the 18th. Whilst Bayhaan was safely on the green 15 feet from the pin, Michael managed to manufacture a stunning mid-iron from the waste area right of the 18th fairway to a mere 3ft from the tough back 18th pin. With Bayhaan making a routine par, Michael stepped up to hole his 3ft birdie putt and be crowned the 2017 Dubai Creek Men’s Club Champion. Meanwhile the Championship Vase was awarded to Bayhaan after his one shot net victory over scratch team captain John Fellingham, who was awarded the second prize. Due to Bayhaan claiming the Championship Vase, the runner-up and 3rd place prizes in the Championship were awarded to Edoardo Galeppini and JP Fitzgerald respectfully.
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ubai Creek Cup – Captain vs Vice Captain took place at the beginning of May. This ever popular event in the club calendar was first established, and the cup itself donated, in 2007 by Colm McLoughlin, Dubai Creek’s first appointed club captain. The event was originally played as an East vs West event but has since been adapted in to a fiercely competed Captain vs Vice Captain team match. The club Captains have the opportunity to pick their teams from the members pairs that have entered this fun 4-Ball Betterball Match Play tournament. In the history of the event the Captain’s team are yet to taste victory, which was something that Captains, Mansour Khodjasteh and Kristi Sealey were
looking to fix against their Vice Captain rivals David Gowans and Maureen Platt. An astounding 9&8 victory from the pairing of Elizabeth Batson and Janice Sears ensured the first points on the board came from the Vice Captains team. In spite of many standout performances from the Captain’s team and numerous hard fought matches, it was the Vice Captain’s team claiming the 10 ½ - 8 ½ victory for the 6th consecutive year! After the completion of another successful and hard fought Creek Cup the Vice Captain’s team have continued their impressive winning run. It will now be up to future Captains David and Maureen to take their winning formula in to next year’s Creek Cup to try and get some Captain’s red on that trophy.
PING DUBAI CREEK LADIES AMATEUR OPEN
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ING Dubai Creek Ladies Amateur Open was held in February, an EGF Order of Merit event which attracts top lady amateur players from throughout the region as well as overseas. Leading
not over after the golf had finished! Taking home the spoils in this year’s Captain’s Trophy with an incredible score of 56.4 was the team of: Tobias Parkin, Ed Fearn, Max Burrow and, Dubai Creek’s Director of Golf, Stephen Hubner. Narrowly missing out on top spot by a mere 0.5 of a shot and claiming the Runner-Up prize was the team of Tauseef Khan, Sandeep Singh, Shiba Wahid and Wafa Abu Zeid. The husband and wife pairings of OB & Kristi Sealey and Rachel & Anthony Cashin came in 3rd after a fine round of 58.3.
the way after an outstanding 1 under par front 9, containing 8 pars and a birdie on the par 5 4th hole, was Arabian Ranches member Kim Chiang. Kim led the way by two shots over Emirates Golf Club member Deborah Chang. An astonishing back 9 of 34 (-2), containing 3 birdies on holes 13, 14 and the challenging 18th was enough for Kim to claim the 2017 PING Dubai Creek Ladies Amateur Open in emphatic fashion, with Deborah finishing runner-up on a very credible score of 73 (+2). In the Silver Division, Glory Xavier pared all 3 of the challenging final holes on her way to a superb net 66 ensuring a 4 shot victory over the runner-up, Sakura Kawakami. Meanwhile in the Bronze Division, Shiba Wahid claimed the winning prize after an astonishing net 60, ensuring a 7 shot winning margin over the former Dubai Creek Lady Captain, Vanessa North who was awarded the runnerup prize.
TITLEIST DUBAI CREEK MEN’S BACK TO BLACK OPEN
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he Titleist Dubai Creek Men’s Back to Black Open took place in March. As always, with play being from the very back, black tees, the added length, along with some breezy conditions and tight pins, provided a great test for the entire field. It was however the defending champion and Dubai Creek’s four time club champion Miki Mirza who was making headlines for the second year in a row. Miki produced a superb 2 over par 73 to be crowned the 2017 Titleist Dubai Creek Back to Black
scores of 5 over par 76, with Bayhaan beating Edoardo on a better back 9.
Men’s Open Champion. Although narrowly missing out on the top spot, Bayhaan Lakdawala and Edoardo Galeppina claimed the Runner-Up and 3rd Place prizes with very respectful
Thanks to the superb event sponsors Titleist, along with the main gross prizes, there was also 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes for the top net performers. Warren Panting produced a fine net 73 to claim top honours in the net category, beating the runner-up Jordan Ryan after his better last 6 holes. The 3rd place net prize was awarded to Yasser Refai after his fine 73.
TITLEIST DUBAI CREEK JUNIOR OPEN
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he Titleist Dubai Creek Junior Open 2017 was held in April. A strong field containing the finest junior golfers in the UAE saw two young talented juniors going head to head to be crowned the Dubai Creek Junior Open 2017. Rising talent Max Cashmore was first in the clubhouse with a fantastic score of 1 under par, 70, which included a back nine 3 under, 33. However Kartik Sharma, who flew in from India to participate, tied for the lead with a 1 under par, 70. The difficult par 4 18th was the chosen hole for the play-off and a cast iron 2 putt par was enough to see Kartik Sharma claim the title.
Toby Bishop used his course knowledge to complete the top 3 places and win the boys runner up prize with a fantastic score of 1 over
JUNIOR INTERCLUB CHALLENGE
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mirates Golf Club vs Dubai Creek. The return leg of this much anticipated Junior Match Play event took place on the
Faldo Course at Emirates in April. With a first leg lead of 5-1 following their home tie at the Creek at the end of last year, the Creek Juniors were in determined mind to clinch overall victory. And so it was to be, with a 4-2 win on the day giving an overall match winning aggregate of 9-3 to the Dubai Creek Juniors. Congratulations to Junior Captain, Rayhan Thomas and his magnificent team on a very convincing victory.
par, 72. In the boy’s net competition, Mousa Shana’ah fired a fantastic round of 69 to add to his recent successes and claim the title. In second place was Asanka White after a round of level par 71. The Girls Division also produced some superb individual performances. A round of 3 over par, 74, saw the talented Kate Bibby win the Girls Gross Division, whilst Dubai Creek member Hannah Alan won the net category with a score of 68, with Jamie Roslyn Camero runner up with a score of 70.
CONGRATULATIONS ...to the Creek’s very own Golf Professional, Cennydd Mills, for winning the UAE PGA Order of Merit. A fantastic achievement, Congratulations Cen!
GETTING TO KNOW YOU MICHAEL MAJOR AND JOE WAY Friends since meeting at University whilst studying the same course in the UK, both boys have been at the Club for a while now, but I thought it would be nice to get to know them better, so here are a few facts about the Creek’s very own version of Ant and Dec! Michael Major – hailing from Yorkshire (UK), Michael didn’t take up golf seriously until the age of 13, playing out of his home club, Huddersfield Golf Club. He went to the University of Birmingham and studied Applied Golf Management Studies that was run in conjunction with the PGA. After leaving University, Michael worked as a teaching professional at the Paul McGinley Golf Academy at Quinta Do Lago in Portugal, before coming to Dubai Creek in September 2015! He turned pro in 2014 at the start of his final year of university. He has played on the UAE PGA and Yorkshire PGA circuits and also played in the MENA Tour event here at the Creek last year, but has never been ‘on tour’ like the guys you see on TV! The route he took through the University of Birmingham had more of an academic emphasis as opposed to trying to make it in the game playing full time. Michael works in the Golf Operations team here at the Creek, starting out as an Intern, but has recently taken over the role of Golf Services Manager - organising club events such as corporate days, society events, open’s and members’ tournaments. When not on the golf course you can now find him on a tennis court channeling his best Roger Federer impression. Joe Way – from Crawley (south of London) showed early promise on the local pitch and putt course before taking up golf and achieving his handicap aged 14 at his home club, Ifield Golf & Country Club. Like Michael, Joe studied Applied Golf Management Studies for 3 years at The University of Birmingham, earning his Batchelor of Science degree as well as learning the practical side to becoming a PGA qualified golf professional. Joe turned pro aged 21 but has never been on a pro tour as such, having just played most of his golf in regional events whilst in the UK. Since arriving in Dubai, he has played in the UAE PGA events which have given him a great opportunity to play the other courses and meet fellow professionals. Joe currently works in the Golf Operations department as the only Player Concierge in the UAE! His main role is to look after all of the members and guests, whilst also helping to organise the many events we run at Dubai Creek. Off the golf course, Joe is a big Chelsea fan (?!) and enjoys playing the odd game of football every now and then himself. Two lovely young guys, both a very welcome addition to the fabulous Creek team (and the new poster boys of the ladies locker room!)
GOLF SIMULATOR SUMMER PACKAGES Beat the heat and practice your golf skills using our state of the art golf simulator. 4 x 50 minute lessons using the simulator 2 x one hour simulator practice sessions Complimentary use of the outdoor practice facilities for two months AED 1,900 Per Member
For more information and bookings, please contact Golf Academy team on +971 4 205 4666 or email areservations@dubaigolf.com.