The Peninsula
Two-time Major winner Martin Kaymer leads a galaxy of golf stars who will be vying for the top prize at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters European Tour event from March 5 to 8.
The former World No.1 along with defending champion Justin Harding and Paul Lawrie, a two- time Doha winner are some of the 144 elite golfers who will be competing for The Mother of Pearl Trophy at Education City Golf Club.
For the first time in the tournament’s 23-year history, the event has been shifted from Doha Golf Club to the newly-built course, designed by two-time Masters Champion Jose Maria Olazába, which will be officially inaugurated on Thursday.
The venue comprises 33 holes split into three courses; 18 holes, nine holes, and six holes. The facility also includes a state-of-the-art learning and practice facility housed in the Centre of Excellence and is at the heart of Qatar’s vision to grow the game.
Kaymer, a four-time Ryder Cup star, who won the 2010 US PGA Championship and 2014 US Open will be hoping to continue his promising start to the season with another strong performance in a bid to bolster his position in the 2020 Race to Dubai.
Besides Kaymer, a number of players in the field have Ryder Cup ambitions like Eddie Pepperell, Alex Levy, Joost Luiten, Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry.
Winner of last week’s event in Oman, Sami Valimaki of Finland will also be seen in action along with two local Qatari golfers. Valimaki won his first European Tour title defeating Stone in a play-off to lift the trophy in Muscat.
Addressing a press conference here yesterday Michael Braidwood, General Manager at Education City Golf Club said they are ready to host the top players.
“The golf course is spectacular. It’s an amazing condition. Some of the players taking part got to use it for the first time on Monday and the feedback was very, very positive,” Braidwood said.
Like all golf courses across the region, Braidwood said wind will play a major part once the action begins on Thursday.
“The wind is a major factor, so we’ll see how the players cope with the challenge. The forecast is good for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So we expect to see low scores, lots of birdies, lots of excitement,” he added.
Qatar Golf Association President, Hassan Nasser Al Naimi, said that the two Qatari players in the field Saleh Ali Al Kaabi and Jaham Jasim Al Kuwari have shown some promising results against their name in the run-up to the championship and he was hopeful they will make the cut.
“Al Kaabi and Al Kuwari have taken part in three to four Qatar Masters championships before this one this year they participated in the Qatar Open Amateur Championship and both of them finished in the top five. So i think, their chances of probably making the cut are high and they playing with professionals is good enough for them to gain experience and move on in their careers and hopefully someday become professionals.”
European Tour Tournament Director Mikael Ericsson said that the sport is growing in the region in terms of new courses and the number of players taking to the sport.
“I think the future is very bright. I think golf is growing out here and we see more and more courses being opened. So, I think golf is very bright out here. You see more and more players and better players coming from this region as well.”
Hussein Ali Al Abdulla, Chief Marketing Officer at Commercial Bank said they have to popularise the game among young talents.
“Every year, Commercial Bank tirelessly works to deliver the best golf experience for participants and players, as well as spectators and enthusiasts, which is why we have organized and scheduled in cooperation with the Education City Golf Club visits to various schools and universities in Doha to raise awareness on this sport amongst students,” Al Abdulla said.
“The main goal of this campaign was to raise awareness about this fascinating game and to educate the public in Qatar, in particular community members aged between 3 and 25, in order to make them more familiar with the game, its techniques, and values. We are pleased to announce that we have succeeded in educating around 9,000 students from several schools and universities in the country,” he added.
Since it was first included on the European Tour International Schedule in 1998, former winners of the event have included Major champions Ernie Els (2005), Sergio Garcia (2014), Retief Goosen (2007), Lawrie (1999, 2012), Adam Scott (2002, 2008) and Henrik Stenson (2006) and Europe’s victorious 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn (2011).