Skaik sits inside top 10 on historic day for UAE at Asia-Pacific Amateur C'ship

The UAE's Ahmad Skaik heads into the weekend of the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship inside the top ten after fighting back impressively on a historic day for UAE golf at Emirates Golf Club.

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Following an impressive four-under-par 68 in Thursday's opening round, expectations were high for Skaik to post another low score on home soil, particularly after his pre-tournament assertion that he was in the best form of his career.

Those hopes took an early blow when the 28-year-old stumbled to three bogeys in his opening six holes.

A birdie at the 8th offered brief respite, but another dropped shot at the 9th-the same hole where he suffered a double bogey on Thursday - threatened to derail his round entirely.

However, buoyed by the form that saw him post a record score at the GCC Golf Championship earlier this year, Skaik mounted an impressive comeback on the back nine. Birdies at the 13th, 15th and 18th-the latter accompanied by a celebratory fist pump - secured an even-par 72 and kept him at four-under-par for the tournament in a tie for 10th place.

"It felt amazing to be honest (getting back to even par for the day)", said Skaik.