(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Commercial Bank Qatar Masters will enter its 19th year when the French-English-Danish trio of Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Matthew Baldwin and Joachim B Hansen tee off at the stroke of dawn at the Doha Golf Club today.
Over the last 18 years, the European Tour event has witnessed some scintillating golfing action, while also acting as a launching pad for some of the biggest names in the sport today.
Some have faded away from public memory, like Andrew Coltart of Scotland who won the inaugural Qatar Masters title in 1998, or 2000 champion Rolf Muntz, who too failed to do justice to his talent.
But for names like Spain's Sergio Garcia, South African Ernie Els, England's Chris Wood, Australian Adam Scott, or defending champion Branden Grace, just to name a few, the Doha event carries a special meaning.
For most of them, a win on the Peter Harradine-designed course at the start of the season often sets the tone for bigger things for the rest of the year.
Grace admits that his victory here last year gave his confidence a big boost for the rest of the year. "I think 2015 was my best season ever and it all started here. I am a much better player now than I was when I came here last year. I am really happy with my game in terms of consistency and want to continue this momentum and keep improving," the 27-year-old South African, who has been enjoying a spectacular run of form since late 2014, said.
After winning in Doha in January, he finished joint fourth at the US Open in June and third at the US PGA Championship in August, while in October he won all of five of his matches for the Internationals against the USA at the Presidents Cup in Korea.
For Garcia, the DGC course has been a happy hunting ground. A regular at the CBQM, the Spaniard missed the cut on his first visit in 1999 but returned in 2007 and has played every year since, with five other top-10 finishes complementing his 2014 victory. He has finished in the top five in three of the last four events here and is glad to be back on a course that he admits suits him very well.
"I feel quite comfortable on this course. It kind of caught my eye the first time I played it and I have played it pretty much every year since. It's getting windy, and the forecast says the conditions are supposed to get even windier, so it's not going to be easy, but the course looks in good shape. I'm looking forward to it," the Spaniard said.
Among the other contenders for the Mother of Pearl Trophy is seven-time European Tour winner Louis Oosthuizen. The 33-year-old South African has an uncanny record of winning his season-opening event, having achieved it four times in a row from 2011 through 2014, and comes here at the top of his game.
The 2010 Open Championship winner came close to securing a second Major last year when he finished runner-up at both the US Open and The Open, and said he's ready for the 'swing'. "I like playing in windy conditions. I had some good practice back at Florida last week, so I'm feeling good. I've got a lot of new clubs in the bag which I tested last week, and am looking forward to getting started," said . The 'desert swing' was a stretch that I always started my season with when I was fully playing on The European Tour, so I always love coming back here," said the 2009 Qatar Masters runner-up.
The local challenge will be led by two 20-year-old amateurs-Saleh al-Kaabi and Ali al-Shahrani-who will be making their third appearance at the US$2.5 million event.
Al-Kaabi opened with a 78 last year before bouncing back with a 70 in the following round, a marked improvement when he shot rounds of 81 and 78 on his debut year in 2014.
Al-Shahrani gave himself a chance of making the cut last year with a first-round 73, but fell away with an 84 on the second day.
Both of them are hoping to be third-time lucky and become the first-ever Qatari golfers to make the halfway cut at the CBQM. Both players qualified for the event by finishing as the top two local players at the Qatar Open amateur tournament, held in the first week of January.
The 7374-yard DGC course, one of the longest par-72 courses on the tour, looks in pristine shape but can be unforgiving if one fails to negotiate the tricky fairways and slopes. Both nines open and close with par-fives, water is in play on six holes (3, 8, 9, 13, 15 and 18) and the par-threes (holes 3, 8, 13 and 17) are all tough. The par-four 11th has often proved to be the bane of many players, and is considered the hardest hole on the course.
Because of its long and wide fairways, the big-hitters often have an advantage in Doha-last year's winner Grace is considered among the longest hitters on the tour, just to cite an example. In fact, most of the previous winners at the DGC, or the second and third finishers, are all known to hit long and deep. With the wind likely to play a big role in the final outcome, the tee-off draw could play a role, as the early starters often find the conditions tougher than the later bunch.
In the CBQM's 18-year history, no player has managed to win back-to-back titles, while only two- Scott in 2002 and 2008, and Paul Lawrie in 1999 and 2012-have managed to win it twice. Will Grace be able to break the trend? Over to the greens.
Tee Times
Tee Time Players
1 06:30 Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Matthew Baldwin, Joachim B. Hansen
1 06:40 Sébastien Gros, Clarke Lutton, Andrew McArthur
1 06:50 Pablo Larrazábal, Ashun Wu, Stephen Gallacher
1 07:00 Dominic Foos, Wade Ormsby, Johan Carlsson
1 07:10 Simon Dyson, Jorge Campillo, John Parry
1 07:20 Seve Benson, Ricardo Gouveia, Benjamin Hebert
1 07:30 George Coetzee, Steve Webster, Andrew Dodt
1 07:40 Rhys Davies, Grégory Havret, Nicolas Colsaerts
1 07:50 Craig Lee, Niclas Fasth, Felipe Aguilar
1 08:00 Mikko Korhonen, Thomas Linard, Rayhan Thomas (AM)
10 06:30 Callum Shinkwin, Robert Rock, Ulrich Van Den Berg
10 06:40 Peter Uihlein, Alexander Levy, Simon Khan
10 06:50 Eduardo De La Riva, Gary Boyd, Bryson DeChambeau (AM)
10 07:00 Darren Fichardt, Trevor Immelman, Alvaro Quiros
Tee Time Players
10 07:10 Kristoffer Broberg, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Tommy Fleetwood
10 07:20 Søren Kjeldsen, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Chris Wood
10 07:30 Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee
10 07:40 David Howell, Marcel Siem, Nathan Holman
10 07:50 Magnus A Carlsson, Maximilian Kieffer, Trevor Fisher Jr
10 08:00 Michael Hoey, Ben Evans, Daniel Brooks
1 10:40 Alex Noren, Julien Quesne, Chris Paisley
1 10:50 Lee Slattery, Cheng Jin (AM), David Lipsky
1 11:00 Marcus Fraser, Prom Meesawat, Richard Bland
1 11:10 Paul Lawrie, John Daly, Robert Karlsson
1 11:20 Thomas Bjorn, Brandon Stone, Lucas Bjerregaard
1 11:30 Bernd Wiesberger, Haydn Porteous, Thomas Pieters
1 11:40 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Branden Grace, Sergio Garcia
1 11:50 Peter Hanson, Alejandro Canizares, Joost Luiten
Tee Time Players
1 12:00 Bradley Dredge, Eddie Pepperell, Mike Weir
1 12:10 James Busby, Ali Saleh al-Kaabi (AM), Jeff Winther
1 12:20 Oliver Fisher, Romain Wattel, Pelle Edberg
10 10:40 Borja Virto Astudillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Scott Jamieson
10 10:50 James Morrison, Mikko Ilonen, Grégory Bourdy
10 11:00 Roope Kakko, Brett Rumford, Richie Ramsay
10 11:10 Thorbjørn Olesen, Fabrizio Zanotti, Marc Warren
10 11:20 Graeme Storm, Raphaël Jacquelin, Gary Stal
10 11:30 Scott Hend, Paul McGinley, Robert Dinwiddie
10 11:40 Jin Jeong, Matteo Manassero, Oliver Wilson
10 11:50 Morten Orum Madsen, Jamie McLeary, David Drysdale
10 12:00 Jens Fahrbring, Renato Paratore, Andrew Johnston
10 12:10 Hennie Otto, Joakim Lagergren, Nacho Elvira
10 12:20 Bjorn Akesson, Edouard Espana, Ali al-Shahrani (AM)
A look back
First played: 1998
Previous winners: Andrew Coltart, 1998; Paul Lawrie, 1999; Rolf Muntz, 2000; Tony Johnstone, 2001; Adam Scott, 2002; Darren Fichardt, 2003; Joakim Haeggman, 2004; Ernie Els, 2005; Henrik Stenson, 2006; Retief Goosen, 2007; Adam Scott, 2008; Alvaro Quiros, 2009; Robert Karlsson, 2010; Thomas Bjørn, 2011; Paul Lawrie, 2012; Chris Wood, 2013; Sergio Garcia, 2014; Branden Grace, 2015
Most wins: 2 € Adam Scott, 2002 and 2008, 2 - Paul Lawrie, 1999 and 2012
Consecutive wins: None
Youngest winner: Adam Scott, 21 years and 244 days, 2002
Oldest winner: Tony Johnstone, years 44 and 313 days, 2001
Lowest 18 hole score: 61 (-11), Adam Scott, 2008
Lowest first 18 hole score: 63 (-9), Mark Pilkington, Robert Karlsson, 2001
Lowest first 36 hole score: 131 (-13), Rafael Cabrera-Bello, 2014
Lowest first 54 hole score: 200 (-16), Paul Lawrie, 1999, Alvaro Quiros, 2009
Lowest 72 hole score: 268 (-20), Paul Lawrie, 1999, Adam Scott, 2008
Lowest under par winning score: 268 (-20), Paul Lawrie, 1999, Adam Scott, 2008
Lowest final round by a winner: 61 (-11), Adam Scott, 2008
Wire-to-wire-winners: Henrik Stenson, 2006, Retief Goosen, 2007
Largest 18 hole lead: 2 shots € David Howell, 2003
Largest 36 hole lead: 3 shots € Adam Scott, 2002, James Kingston, 2003, Louis Oosthuizen, 2009
Largest 54 hole lead: 6 shots € Rolf Muntz, 2000
Largest winning margin: 7 shots € Paul Lawrie, 1999
Biggest final round comeback by a winner: 5 shots € Ernie Els, 2005
Play-offs: Darren Fichardt beat James Kingston, 2003; Sergio Garcia beat Mikko Ilonen, 2014
Holes-in-one: Eduardo Romero, 17th Hole, Rd 1, 1999; Patrik Sjöland, 17th Hole, Rd 2, 1999; John Bickerton, 13th Hole, Rd 2, 1999; Jamie Spence, 13th Hole, Rd 2, 2000; Darren Fichardt, 3rd Hole, Rd, 2, 2003; Warren Bennett, 17th Hole, Rd 3, 2004; Thongchai Jaidee, 3rd Hole, Rd 2, 2006; Peter Lawrie, 3rd Hole, Rd 2, 2006; Brandon Stone, 13th Hole, Rd 2, 2014
Albatrosses: Steve Webster, 10th Hole, Rd 1, 2014 (his first hole of the tournament)
Low cut: 143 (-1), 2001, 02, 04, 13, 14, 15
High cut: 150 (+6), 2000
Did You Know
*Branden Grace will try to create history by becoming the first player to hold onto the Mother of Pearl Trophy. The 27-year-old has yet to make a successful defence of a European Tour title.
*Should the 1999 and 2012 champion Paul Lawrie win again, the Scot would be the first player to win the title on three occasions.
*There are 15 players in the field who have won European Tour events in the Middle East. This includes Ernie Els, winner in Qatar in 2005. The South African holds the record for most European Tour titles in the region, with four, along with Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.
*The Commercial Bank Qatar Masters holds the European Tour record for the fewest number of shots between the halfway leaders and the cut mark, just five in 2004. The 36 hole leaders were on 138 (-6), whilst the cut fell at 143 (-1). This five shot record was matched in 2012 at the Sicilian Open.
*Steve Webster made European Tour history by becoming the first player to begin a tournament with an albatross. He started from the par five tenth hole in this event in 2014.
*Jakub Hrinda made in 2015 by becoming the youngest player to compete in the tournament, aged 14 years and 305 days. This beat the previous record of Dominic Foos, who was 15 and 142 days in 2013.