(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Armstrong Vas / The Peninsula
Doha: Chris Wood is leading a galaxy of stars who are heading to the $1.75m Commercial Bank Qatar Masters which tees off from tomorrow at Doha Golf Club (DGC).
The Englishman, who finished second at last week's NBO Oman Open, will be looking for a repeat of 2013 when he won the Mother of Pearl trophy at the European Tour event in Qatar.
For the 30-year-old, DGC has been a happy hunting ground having won his first of the three European Tour titles.
Wood will be looking carry forward his good form from the Oman tournament to Doha. In Muscat, Wood found himself narrowly edged out by friend Joost Luiten to the second spot.
The new season has been an off-and-on one for Wood having missed the cut in three tournaments a far cry from the 2016, which saw him win the BMW PGA Championship and make the Ryder Cup Team.
'You play poorly for six or eight months without ever thinking you'd put yourself in contention in a tournament and then when you do you're gutted when you don't win, wood said after Oman tournament.
The field in Doha includes the likes of Darren Clarke, Robert Karlsson, Thomas Bjorn, Thongchai Jaidee, Jeunghun Wang, Julian Suri, Andy Sullivan, Nicolas Colsaerts, Paul Lawrie, Matteo Manassero and Jordan Smith.
Wang will be looking to successfully defends his title and if he does, he will become just the second person to win the event in back-to-back seasons after Branden Grace, who achieved the feat in 2015 and 2016. Two other players have won the title on two occasions Major champions Paul Lawrie (1999 and 2012) and Adam Scott (2002 and 2008).
Wang secured his third European Tour title with victory in Doha last year, and in doing so became the first player to win the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters on their debut appearance since Ernie Els in 2005. One man looking to replicate that feat is the in-form Shubhankar Sharma. The 21 year old has already notched up his first two European Tour titles in a stunning start to the 2018 season, and will make his first appearance at Doha Golf Club.
A strong representation of local and regional talent will mix with the stars of the European Tour as the DGC.
The field consist of 138 players including sponsor invites to five local and regional players; Ali Al Shahrani (Qatar), Ali Saleh Al Kaabi (Qatar), Shergo Al Kurdi (Jordan), Ahmed Marjan (Morocco), Josh White (England) and Ahmed Baig (Pakistan).
Qatar invites have gone to both Al Shahrani and Al Kaabai. Sahrani has played five times in the tournament andAl Kaabi also five times with their collective best score of 148, 4 over par on the challenging Peter Harradine designed golf course.
White, from the MENA Golf Tour, gained his invite spot by winning the recent Qatar Open (Professional Division) with scores of 70, 73 and 70.
Baig, won the Qatar Open (Amateur Division), with a 54 hole total of three under par, 213. The 19-year-old will also represent Pakistan at the 11th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be held at the Laguna Lang Co Golf Club in Danang, Vietnam, next month.
Moroccans, Al Kurdi and Marjan complete the invitee list.
The 72 hole tournament has a cut to the leading 65 professionals and ties after 36 holes with the final rounds being played on Saturday and Sunday.
Entry is free and all spectators are welcome.
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