While his early years were spent playing casually with his father, the global pause during COVID ignited a more serious passion in Skaik, pushing him to commit fully to the game. Now, with daily practice, he’s focused on achieving greatness in the sport that has shaped his life.
At just 17 years old, Skaik recently turned heads with a career-best round of 66 at the Pan Arab Boys Championship in Tunisia, highlighted by eight birdies across 18 holes. We caught up with him to reflect on his journey so far and to find out if he’s discovered the key to playing outstanding golf.
Worldwide Golf: Firstly, talk to us about your first memories of the sport. How did you get into golf?
Mohammad Skaik: I remember it was at Montgomerie Golf Club, that’s where my father used to be a member. I remember when I was five he took me to play, I liked it but I was just playing for fun. I used to play once a week, or every two weeks, and wasn’t taking it too seriously. Right after COVID hit, that’s when I thought about it more and decided I wanted to pursue golf to try and become a professional golfer. I started taking it more seriously and practicing every day.
WWG: Your brother, Ahmad, is obviously well known in the UAE for his golf as well. What’s your relationship like with him, and does he serve as motivation?
MS: I saw him playing in these DP World Tour events, and he started playing well. He almost made the cut at the AVIV Championship. It gave me motivation to play even more because I wanted to get to that level and compete. We are competitive when we play because I’ve got better. I can give him some competition if he wants, but I’ve never really beaten him in a tournament yet. Well, hopefully it’s too come. We’re always together in the house, we always play golf so we are very close as brothers. I train with him everywhere, almost every single day. He started when he was 14 and played with my father, and I would just sit and watch. As I got older, I started wanting to play and now I play with them.
WWG: Golf continues to grow among UAE nationals, but the number of Emirati golfers remains small. What do you think is holding back a larger participation?
MS: There are many people in the federation who really love them sport and really want to pursue it, but it’s not very easy to pursue as your career. You could have one good day, then have months of very bad golf which can take you down. That’s why some people stop playing. You need to be very strong in the mind to play this game. However, the sport is growing and more people are getting into it here every day.
WWG: Your made headlines recently with that fantastic round of 66 in Tunisia. What are your memories of that day on the golf course?
MS: When I first started the round, I was like ‘I have the game, I can play’. Then, it was quite a short course but the wind was making it tough. Just aim fairway, green, two putt leave, but I was just holing putts. I had eight birdies but I doubled hole 17. I shot six under, it could have been eight under, but six under is still a very good score. It’s my best ever round of golf in a tournament. Before this round, my best score was four under in Al Ain.
WWG: And representing your country on the biggest stage in high-profile competitions. What is that feeling like?
MS: It’s an honour to represent the UAE. Every time I go and play a tournament, I want to win and raise the flag of the UAE to show everybody that UAE Nationals are good players. They are not just players who play for fun.
WWG: The future for you over the next few months, what does that look like and what are you focusing on?
MS: I took a gap semester from University to pursue golf and play more. I finished in June and I’m going to restart now in January. Hopefully I just play well this season and can improve my game to be more confident to perform in higher levels. I need to be more consistent and work on my mental game in terms of always having the confidence that I have. I don’t want to go play a tournament, shoot a low round, and then the next day mess it up. I want to be consistent, shooting low rounds often.
