Following a 20-year stint in the professional golf circuit, Simon Dunn, a Dubai native, has circled back to his amateur roots. Khaleej Times recently interviewed the 45-year-old UAE resident, whose golf journey is quite captivating. Dunn reminisced, 'I began golfing at the Emirates Golf Club at 13. Our family had membership due to the tennis courts, and I was a promising junior tennis player. I recall junior golf sessions with pros like Greg Schofield, Elliott Gray, and Adrian Flaherty. My initial serious coaching was with Mark Gregson-Walters, and I also trained with Wayne Johnson.' Dunn's family has been in the Middle East since the 1970s, and he was born in Dubai's Rashid Hospital in 1979. He noted, 'We lived in Dubai and Abu Dhabi until the mid-1980s, then returned in 1992, joining the Emirates Golf Club. My initial handicap was 18 at 13, which quickly dropped to single digits. At 16, I played in my first Asian Tour event as an amateur at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club in 1995.' Reflecting on his amateur career, Dunn mentioned, 'I won several UAE Golf Association (now EGF) Order of Merit events locally but had limited success in the UK. I won in college in the US, holding the top four stroke averages nationally and ranking as high as 20th.' Dunn turned pro in 2003 after the Asian Tour Qualifying School, securing partial status that year. His professional highlights include winning on the European Professional Development Tour in Germany in 2003, which earned him a Challenge Tour card for the next year, and a third-place finish at the 2006 Volkswagen China Masters behind Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell. His highest Official World Golf Ranking was 625 in 2006. Dunn regained his amateur status in September 2023 after two years of not competing professionally. He currently plays off a +4.3 handicap, having been as low as +6.3. Professionally, Dunn has held various operations and managerial roles since 2010 and is now an active participant in EGF Order of Merit events, finishing 6th in the 2023-24 Men's EGF Order of Merit, winning the 2023 Al Zorah Men's Open, and representing Team Amateurs in the Annual Dubai Golf Trophy.