Gulf Times
The Doha Golf Club (DGC) will host an Asian Tour golf event after 16 years with the inaugural edition of the International Series Qatar to be held from February 16 to 19.
The path-breaking series was launched last year with seven events, with three more legs added this year as Doha makes its debut offering a whopping $2.5mn in prize money. The third leg of the 2023 Asian Tour and the second leg of the Asian Tour’s International Series has attracted top names including South Africa’s Justin Harding and Charl Schwartzel.
Harding will be hoping for an encore at a course where he won his maiden European title – the 2019 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, while Schwartzel is a former major winner. Qatar will be represented by Saleh al-Kaabi and Jaham al-Kuwari. The Qatar Masters was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour from 2005 to 2007.
Qatar Golf Association (QGA) General Secretary Fahad Nasser al-Naimi hoped to host the event every year while addressing a media conference to launch the inaugural edition at DGC yesterday. “We are happy to be a part of Asian Tour’s International Series and we are looking forward to become a regular member of this series,” al-Naimi said.
“This tournament is one of the biggest golf events in the world. I want to thank Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani for his support in hosting of this competition. Asian Tour picked Qatar because of our great history in organising mega events successfully. This tournament has attracted many top players as only four or five of 132 players are amateur rest all are professional golfers. We hope everybody would enjoy this tournament,” he added.
Meanwhile, Asian Tour Chief Operating Officer David Rollo expressed his delight on the partnership with QGA and hoped Qatar would be a great addition to the prestigious series. “We’re really excited to be here. It’s a great destination. We’ve obviously seen the success of events here previously. We want to be in world class destinations. Everyone in sport enjoyed the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 last year. So it’s great to come back to summer with such a rich sporting heritage,” said Rollo.
With forecast suggesting strong winds at the weekend, General Manager DGC Gary McGlinchey said the course will pose a tricky challenge for the golfers.
“The Doha Golf Club course is in great shape. We have new greens two years ago. Some of these players will be playing for the first time. We’ve had a lot of rain. So the course is a little bit softer than normal,” said McGlinchey.
“The forecast next weekend is lots of wind. So my prediction I think the golf course will play tough. The greens will be fast and with the wind, I think their leading winning score will be under maybe less than ten under par. But we’ll see. I’m looking forward to it. And I’m sure someone’s going to be very happy,” he added.
A strong Indian contingent led by Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa will figure in the tournament.
The other Indians in the fray are Shiv Kapur, SSP Chawrasia, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rashid Khan, Veer Ahlawat and Ajeetesh Sandhu. Last Indian to win on the Asian Tour was Bhullar in Indonesia last year.
Chawrasia got his 2023 international season off to a good start with four good rounds and a tied 30th place to finish as the best-placed Indian golfer at the Oman leg of the series.