Qatar Masters: Top golfers face tricky wind test in Doha Thursday, 02 February 2012 00:05

Lee Westwood of England (left) and John Patrick Daly of the US.

By Armstrong Vas

Doha: Golfers at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters will face a stern weather test at the Doha Golf Club in the $2.5m European Tour event which tees off here today.

The DGC course is known for its windy conditions and is one of the most challenging courses on the European Tour’s Desert Swing. The windy conditions were prevailed in the past and this year it will be no different.

Weather forecast says wind will reach upward of 20mph during the tournament. Thus, the creame of world’s best golfers who are here will have to overcome the tricky weather conditions, if they want to lay their hands on the winners trophy.

The Qatar field has some of the top ranked players including third-ranked Lee Westwood is keen to finish with a good showing at DGC.

The former world number one is eager to tackle the Doha course - a place he has had mixed success. His best finish is third in 2010 but he missed the cut last year and finished several times outside the top 30.

“Looking forward to this week and playing a golf course I’ve done well in the past. Apparently the rough’s not as long as it was last year, but the weather man says it’s going to be fairly windy. And when it’s like that around here, it’s a really tough test.”

Westwood struggled at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and finished in a tie for 17th. The Englishman who had trouble with a sore shoulder during last week’s tournament said he is getting over a few fitness issues.

Nursing a sore shoulder and unable to master the greens, the Englishman was even par after two rounds. By the time he started playing better, including a 4-under 68 in the third round, he was effectively out of contention and finished seven shots behind eventual winner Robert Rock.

“I had a few sort of issues to negotiate,” Westwood said. “We’ve been working a lot on my fitness just recently, and I haven’t played a lot coming into Abu Dhabi.  Westwood, who became the first British golfer since Nick Faldo in 1994 to hold the number one position, however, takes encouragement from the fact that he has made slow starts to the season in the past.

“I had a decent start,” he said of the 17th place finish in Abu Dhabi.

Westwood had a strong finish closing out the 2011 season with twin wins. He won the Thailand Golf Championship in December and the Nedbank Challenge a few weeks earlier. Westwood ended the reign of Tiger Woods in 2010 and held on that position for 22 weeks.

The golfer who has a honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Nottingham Trent University said he is slowly getting into the groove and gaining mastery over his putting at the start of the new season.

“The ball is starting on line where I’m aiming, and my pace control was good. I only made one bogey over the weekend. Unfortunately that was a three putt from long range. I think I was second in greens in regulation, so my game is fairly sharp. Like I said, I’m a notoriously slow starter and it always takes me a bit to get going.

On the other hand American Hunter Mahan, who will make his debut in the Middle East is keen to know more about the local culture.

“I think it’s somewhat beneficial, I think, to be an American player coming over here because it’s not all about golf. I really enjoy the opportunity to kind of travel and see different parts of the world,” said the 19th-ranked American.

“When it’s time to play golf, it’s time to play golf. But like I said, getting out of your comfort zone is kind of a good thing, kind of makes you forced to focus and bear down a little bit and make sure you’re doing what you need to do to prepare for the week,” he added. This year’s field also includes Graeme McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, and defending champion Thomas Bjorn.Both will be eager to build on their strong showings in Abu Dhabi. Both players finished in a tie for third.

The Peninsula

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