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Harding relishes Doha return as inaugural International Series Qatar gets underway

Harding relishes Doha return as inaugural International Series Qatar gets underway

The Peninsula

Justin Harding notched up one of his most memorable career triumphs in Doha when he clinched the Qatar Masters trophy for his maiden victory on the European Tour in 2019.

The two-time Asian Tour winner makes his return to the Doha Golf Club eyeing an encore as the inaugural edition of the International Series Qatar tees off at the picturesque venue today.

The South African, who also finished fifth at the Qatar Masters last year, will start as one of the title contenders as a strong field of 132 golfers will begin their quest for top honours in the $2.5m competition – the third leg of the 2023 Asian Tour and the second leg of the Asian Tour’s International Series.

Nine players from the top-10 of last year’s Asian Tour Order of Merit are playing in the tournament. The line-up also includes former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel from South Africa, reigning Asian Tour No.1 Sihwan Kim of the US and Sadom Kaewkanjana from Thailand.

Harding is returning to action after injury forced him out of the second half of 2022 – from the middle of September until late January. The 37-year-old is expected to excel at the venue despite the lack of playing time.

“I’ve got a good track record around here, even Alan my caddy has had a lot of good finishes with George Coetzee here as well, so it’s a venue which is close to our hearts,” Harding was quoted as saying on the Asian Tour website.

The Doha Golf Club is known as the challenging course particularly for the golfers on their maiden visit to the venue, and with strong winds predicted during the tournament days the layout poses a tough test for the contestants.

“It’s a good test. I think when the wind blows, it certainly makes it challenging to get it around. The scores are never really super low, it’s just a good challenge,” said Harding.

“They’ve put a few tees in, I played the back nine yesterday, and they have put a couple tees in which have made a few of the holes a little different, considerably longer,” he added.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who won International Series Morocco event last year, hoped his experience in Doha will help in the next four days.

“It is my fourth time here in Qatar and third time on this golf course. So I know the golf course quite well,” said Jazz.

“I couldn’t reach the fairway on 18 today because of the wind. That was a little embarrassing,” the seven-time Asian Tour winner said after the Pro-am event yesterday.

After featuring in the International Series Oman last week, Saleh Al Kaabi will represent the host country along with Jaham Al Kuwari in the tournament.

Qatar is staging an Asian Tour event after 16 years as the Qatar Masters was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour from 2005 to 2007. The Asian Tour’s International Series, which was launched last year with seven events, will see a total of 10 legs in its second edition this year. Qatar Golf Association is hoping to hold the Doha leg regularly after hosting the inaugural edition.