After a two-year gap, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters returns to ‘home’ Doha Golf Club (DGC) to celebrate its silver jubilee this weekend. The $2mn event is being held from March 24-27 at the DGC where new greens will challenge the players as they aim for the famous Mother of Pearl Trophy.
The tournament was played at the DGC since 1998, but with the course undergoing renovation, it was moved to the Education City Golf Club (ECGC) for 2020 and 2021.
“It’s going to be an exciting contest in the presence of elite golfers as Qatar Masters returns to its home, after two years,” president of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA) Hassan al-Naimi said, while addressing the media yesterday.
“As we are celebrating the 25th edition of Qatar Masters, I’d like to thank Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani and title sponsors Commercial Bank for their continued support,” he said.
Ashjan al-Khalaf, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Commercial Bank congratulated DGC for hosting the 25th edition of the event. “Congratulations for the silver jubilee edition of the tournament. We have been the title sponsors of the tournament for many years. We have been hosting this for many years now. The direction of the leadership of the QGA has been tremendous. We try our best to support and complement the QGA in its pursuit to educate and promote golf to our locals and specially our Qatari golfers. Top-notch players are coming in Qatar to play in this prestigious event. We look forward to support this amazing tournament as it also serves Qatar 2030 vision,” al-Khalaf said.
The field consists of 144 players – 140 professionals and four amateurs. Speaking about the conditions of the course, DGC General Manager Gary McGlinchey said they have reconstructed all the holes and made some changes to a few pin positions that will test players’ skill.
“We’ve remodelled all 18 holes with four new greens being redesigned differently. We’ve learned from previous editions that a few pin positions were lacking and we’ve addressed that issue with challenging ones this year. If the greens are cut to become faster and given the windy weather forecast over the next few days, the players are in for a tough test,” he said.
Defending champion Frenchman Antoine Rozner will defend the title, while former champions with Spain’s Jorge Campillio (2020), Englishmen Chris Wood (2013), Eddie Pepperell (2018) and South African Justin Harding (2019) are also vying for the Mother of Pearl Trophy this weekend.
DP World Tour Tournament Director Mikael Erikkson praised the new-look DGC course. “I think QGA has done a good job. The work being done is fabulous. The golf course is in great condition and everybody is happy to return here. Keeping the ball on fairways will be the key. The course is playing firm and there’s a lot of rough. With the wind coming up, we expect some drama out there,” Erikkson said.
Talking about the local interest, QGA General Secretary Fahad Nasser al-Naimi said two Qatari golfers will be among the four amateurs, who will take part in Qatar Masters. “Saleh al-Kaabi and Abdulrahman al-Shahrani will be the Qatari golfers to participate in the tournament,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s Faisal Salhab and Denmark’s Mikkel Mathiesen, who won the Qatar Open Amateur Championship in January, are the other amateur golfers participating on wild cards.
“It’s going to be an exciting contest in the presence of elite golfers as Qatar Masters returns to its home, after two years,” president of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA) Hassan al-Naimi said, while addressing the media yesterday.
“As we are celebrating the 25th edition of Qatar Masters, I’d like to thank Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani and title sponsors Commercial Bank for their continued support,” he said.
Ashjan al-Khalaf, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Commercial Bank congratulated DGC for hosting the 25th edition of the event. “Congratulations for the silver jubilee edition of the tournament. We have been the title sponsors of the tournament for many years. We have been hosting this for many years now. The direction of the leadership of the QGA has been tremendous. We try our best to support and complement the QGA in its pursuit to educate and promote golf to our locals and specially our Qatari golfers. Top-notch players are coming in Qatar to play in this prestigious event. We look forward to support this amazing tournament as it also serves Qatar 2030 vision,” al-Khalaf said.
The field consists of 144 players – 140 professionals and four amateurs. Speaking about the conditions of the course, DGC General Manager Gary McGlinchey said they have reconstructed all the holes and made some changes to a few pin positions that will test players’ skill.
“We’ve remodelled all 18 holes with four new greens being redesigned differently. We’ve learned from previous editions that a few pin positions were lacking and we’ve addressed that issue with challenging ones this year. If the greens are cut to become faster and given the windy weather forecast over the next few days, the players are in for a tough test,” he said.
Defending champion Frenchman Antoine Rozner will defend the title, while former champions with Spain’s Jorge Campillio (2020), Englishmen Chris Wood (2013), Eddie Pepperell (2018) and South African Justin Harding (2019) are also vying for the Mother of Pearl Trophy this weekend.
DP World Tour Tournament Director Mikael Erikkson praised the new-look DGC course. “I think QGA has done a good job. The work being done is fabulous. The golf course is in great condition and everybody is happy to return here. Keeping the ball on fairways will be the key. The course is playing firm and there’s a lot of rough. With the wind coming up, we expect some drama out there,” Erikkson said.
Talking about the local interest, QGA General Secretary Fahad Nasser al-Naimi said two Qatari golfers will be among the four amateurs, who will take part in Qatar Masters. “Saleh al-Kaabi and Abdulrahman al-Shahrani will be the Qatari golfers to participate in the tournament,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s Faisal Salhab and Denmark’s Mikkel Mathiesen, who won the Qatar Open Amateur Championship in January, are the other amateur golfers participating on wild cards.
