Golf star Rayhan Thomas proud to sign up as Dubai Basketball ambassador
Thomas, 25, who turned professional on June 1st, 2024, and holds full card status for the 2025 season, is excited to support Dubai Basketball, a team he's closely connected to through sponsorships and personal relationships.
'My target for this year is to make the Top 20 of the Korn Ferry Tour by the end of 2025 to earn my 2026 PGA Tour Card privileges,' Thomas told Khaleej Times.
'Dubai Basketball is in the ABA League, and I have relationships with the senior management and ownership at Dubai Basketball. They are one of my key sponsors and supporters. I am always happy to help Dubai Basketball – I am a remote supporter so far, but I will support and attend whenever and wherever I can.'
'I carry their Dubai Basketball logo on my left sleeve and am proud to be a fan of this initiative, aligned with a sports team based in Dubai. They have the Dubai franchise in this ABA League and currently stand in fourth place,' he added.
Thomas, who is also an ambassador for Dubai Creek Resort and Dubai Golf, first took up golf through the Emirates Golf Federation's Junior Development Programme (JDP) at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. He later honed his skills with enhanced coaching at the CH3 Performance Institute at The Els Club, under the guidance of Claude Harmon III and Justin Parsons.
Justin, now an Elite Golf Instructor at the Sea Island Golf Performance Centre in Georgia, coaches several top players, including Louis Oosthuizen, Brian Harman, and Harris English.
After six tournaments on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour, Thomas sits in 42nd place, with three cuts made, one Top 10 finish, and one Top 25 finish.
The Dubai Basketball Team recently beat Partizan Mozzart 80–72 and currently sits in fourth place after 23 matches, with the most recent match played last Tuesday.
The next fixture for Dubai Basketball is against FMB Soccerbet at the Coca-Cola Arena on Saturday, March 29th, 2025, with an 8:00 pm tip-off. For more information, visit: www.DubaiBasketball.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Al Etihad
MENA Tour revives in bump for regional golfers
15 Aug 2025 01:05 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)The MENA Golf Tour is set to return later this year after a brief hiatus, with 12 events lined up on its revival since the 2022-23 season. Making the announcement was the newly appointed Chairman and Commissioner of the Tour, Keith Waters, an industry veteran who is set to significantly elevate the Tour's status and former DP World Tour Chief Operating Officer and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) brings over 40 years of expertise. He was instrumental in founding the OWGR in 2004 and developing the DP World Tour while still serving the OWGR as a board member.'I'm delighted to be involved in the relaunch of the MENA Golf Tour. We're pleased the MENA Golf Tour will remain an eligible Official World Golf Ranking tour as well as prize money of $100,000 per event,' said Waters. 'Each tournament will be contested over 54 holes, featuring a 36-hole cut to the top 60 players and ties, with the winner taking home $18,000.'The relaunched 2025/2026 MENA Golf Tour season will feature a 12-event schedule, commencing in Portugal. The opening event will follow a Qualifying School in November designed specifically for non-exempt in 2011, the MENA Golf Tour remains the only OWGR-recognised circuit headquartered in the Middle East, providing vital opportunities for professional golfers from the region and around the globe.'This Tour has tremendous potential and serves as a crucial pathway for golfers, not just from the Middle East, but internationally,' said Waters. 'We have already seen success stories such as Robert MacIntyre, who progressed from the MENA Golf Tour to winning prestigious titles like the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR and the Genesis Scottish Open on the DP World Tour.'MacIntyre, second on the European Ryder Cup ranking, said, 'The MENA Golf Tour opened doors, taught me how to win, and prepared me for the challenges of the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR. I'm excited to see it return and give the next generation of players the same opportunities I had.' From 2011, the MENA Tour has been a beacon of light on the greens of the UAE and wider geographical area for regional golfers. After a blip with a season missed in 2018, the Tour continued before the pandemic wiped out the 2021 season. On its second restart, the MENA Tour gave way to LIV Golf in a strategic decision, keeping the OWGR ranking points in mind.
Dubai Eye
2 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Mena Golf Tour returns with Keith Waters at helm
The MENA Golf Tour is set to return later this year, with former DP World Tour Chief Operating Officer and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) board member Keith Waters appointed as Chairman and Commissioner. The addition of Waters, who brings over 40 years of expertise developing the DP World Tour and was instrumental in founding the OWGR in 2004, is set to significantly elevate the Tour's status and influence. Established in 2011, the MENA Golf Tour remains the only OWGR-recognised circuit headquartered in the Middle East, providing vital opportunities for professional golfers from the region and around the globe. 'I'm delighted to be involved in the relaunch of the MENA Golf Tour,' said Waters. 'This Tour has tremendous potential and serves as a crucial pathway for golfers, not just from the Middle East, but internationally. We have already seen success stories such as Robert MacIntyre, who progressed from the MENA Golf Tour to winning prestigious titles like the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR and the Genesis Scottish Open on the DP World Tour.' MacIntyre, currently second on the European Ryder Cup ranking, said: 'The MENA Golf Tour opened doors, taught me how to win, and prepared me for the challenges of the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR. I'm excited to see it return and give the next generation of players the same opportunities I had.' "We're pleased the MENA Golf Tour will remain an eligible Official World Golf Ranking tour as well as prize money of $100,000 per event," said Waters. "Each tournament will be contested over 54 holes, featuring a 36-hole cut to the top 60 players and ties, with the winner taking home $18,000." The relaunched 2025/2026 MENA Golf Tour season will feature a 12-event schedule, commencing in Portugal. The opening event will follow a Qualifying School in November designed specifically for non-exempt players.
The National
4 days ago
- The National
US envoy discusses Syria's post-war future with Syrian and Jordanian foreign ministers
US special envoy Thomas Barrack has met the foreign ministers of Jordan and Syria, to discuss ways to support the process of rebuilding Syria after years of civil war. Jordan 's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Syria's Foreign Minister Assad Al Shaibani attended the meeting in Amman on Tuesday, news agency Petra reported. The leaders spoke about various issues, particularly supporting Syria's postwar reconstruction and 'ensuring its security, stability, and sovereignty', the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said. Promoting the rights of all Syrians and consolidating the ceasefire in the Sweida province were other matters to be discussed, it added. Earlier Mr Safadi met Mr Al Shaibani and Mr Barrack separately, at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry's headquarters. Talks between the US, Syria and Jordan are mostly focused on enabling reconstruction efforts and securing foreign investment, but will also tackle other pressing issues, such as protecting minorities from attacks like the recent violence against the Druze community in Sweida. The meeting comes as Damascus seeks international investment to revive its economy, which has been devastated by nearly 14 years of conflict. The UN has estimated that Syria's postwar reconstruction will cost more than $400 billion. Amman has increasingly engaged with Damascus as part of regional efforts to stabilise the situation and encourage more investment, but the Syrian government is facing mounting pressure to address increasing security issues. Last month, Jordan held a meeting with its Syrian counterparts 'to address the consolidation of the ceasefire in the Sweida governorate in southern Syria' a statement from the ministry said. Last week, Damascus signed 12 major agreements valued at $14 billion, including a $4 billion deal with Qatar's UCC Holding to build a new airport and a $2 billion agreement with the UAE's National Investment Corporation to construct a subway in Damascus.
