Season finale at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club promises fitting conclusion to hugely successful return for the Middle East's premier development tour Al Ain, UAE – Feb 24, 2026: The MENA Golf Tour will bring its landmark 2025/26 season to a close in its UAE home as the Al Ain Championship takes centre stage at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club from March 30 to April 1, with the field competing over three rounds for a $100,000 prize fund and the season-ending Rankings title. Events in Portugal and Egypt have already delivered outstanding competition in what has been one of the most successful and captivating seasons in the tour's history, with Morocco, Jordan and Qatar still to come before the tour's leading players descend on the Garden City for the finale. A venue with true pedigree Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club is a venue with impeccable credentials. The championship course has hosted the Abu Dhabi Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour for the past two consecutive years, cementing its standing as one of the finest tournament venues in the region. With water coming into play on the majority of holes and several fairways bordered by Al Ain's horse racing track, the layout demands precision and course management throughout. The course's signature hole is the par-five 10th – at 678 yards, the longest par five in the Arabian Gulf – a formidable challenge that will test even the most powerful players in the field. Beyond the fairways, the club offers Olympic and international-standard facilities spanning equestrian, shooting, rugby and cricket, making it one of the most exceptional multi-sport venues anywhere in the region. Mohammed Rashid Al Nasseri, General Manager of Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, said: "We are delighted to welcome the MENA Tour back to Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club. It's a proud moment for us to once again host another OWGR-recognised event and provide a platform for talented professionals and rising stars from across the region. Our course has a strong history of tournament golf, and we look forward to seeing the players compete here once again. The return of the MENA Tour is an important step in continuing to grow the game in the UAE and support the development of professional golf in the region." Dubai-based Garrick Porteous, who claimed victory at the Abu Dhabi Challenge on the same course in 2024, knows better than most what awaits the field. “I love Al Ain, I’ve got some great memories of my HotelPlanner Tour victory there,” said the Englishman. “Really nice people, a great club and a lovely environment with all the different sports going on. It’s got some really challenging holes, especially on the back nine and if the wind blows, it can be set up quite tricky. It’s always in fantastic condition so I always really enjoy playing there.” Skaik carries Emirati hopes on home soil Among the stories that will define the Al Ain Championship, none carries greater resonance than that of Ahmad Skaik. The UAE's leading professional golfer will bring a strong affinity and deep course knowledge to Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club having competed in the Abu Dhabi Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour there in both 2024 and 2025, as well as featuring in the inaugural UAE Cup at the same course in October 2024. For Skaik, this is familiar and beloved territory. Now competing as a professional, the standard-bearer for Emirati golf will carry the hopes of a nation as he steps out in front of his home crowd for the season finale. His journey – from the UAE National Team to the HotelPlanner Tour and now a fully-fledged professional – embodies everything the MENA Golf Tour was built to support and celebrate. "Al Ain is a place I know well and where I've had some great experiences. To come back here as a professional, representing the UAE at the season finale, is something really special. The MENA Golf Tour has given players like me exactly the platform we need to develop and compete, and I want to finish the season strongly in front of a home crowd." The Garden City The Al Ain Championship takes place in one of the UAE's most extraordinary destinations. Known as the Garden City of the Emirates, Al Ain is the country's largest inland city, sitting approximately 160 kilometres east of Abu Dhabi and 120 kilometres south of Dubai. A 4,000-year-old settlement and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a green oasis set against the vast expanse of the Rub al Khali – the world's largest continuous sand desert. The Al Ain Oasis covers nearly 3,000 acres and is home to more than 147,000 date palms spanning up to 100 different varieties, fed by an ancient falaj irrigation system that has sustained the city for millennia. Al Ain was home to UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was raised in the city, a fact that lends Al Ain a profound place in the nation's identity and history. To the south, the dramatic peak of Jebel Hafeet rises nearly 1,300 metres from the desert floor – one of the most striking natural landmarks in the Arabian Peninsula and a constant presence on the Al Ain skyline throughout tournament week. A season that has delivered Keith Waters, Chairman and Commissioner of the MENA Golf Tour, said: "To bring the curtain down on what has been a truly outstanding season here in the UAE feels entirely right. The MENA Golf Tour was built to serve this region and the talent within it, and the Al Ain Championship represents everything we stand for – world-class competition, a spectacular venue and a genuine pathway for the next generation of professional golfers. We cannot wait to get started." The Al Ain Championship is the final event on a 2025/26 schedule that has taken the MENA Golf Tour across Europe and the Middle East, delivering $100,000 prize funds and Official World Golf Ranking points at every stop. With the Rankings title still to be decided, Al Ain will host a finale that the season deserves. The Al Ain Championship takes place at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, Al Ain, UAE, from March 30 to April 1, 2026.
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