FROM LEFT: Asian Tour Chief Operating Officer David Rollo, Executive Director Butler Bell Sports Mark Bell, QGA General Secretary Fahad Nasser Al Naimi, QGA Executive Director Mohammed Faisal Al Naimi and General Manager Doha Golf Club Gary McGlinchey during the press conference yesterday. PIC: Abdul Basit
South Africa’s Justin Harding and Charl Schwartzel will spearhead a star-studded line-up set to compete in the inaugural edition of the International Series Qatar in Doha this weekend.
Offering a whopping total prize money of $2.5m, the tournament – the third leg of the 2023 Asian Tour and the second leg of the Asian Tour’s International Series – will see leading golfers in action at the picturesque Doha Golf Club (DGC) from February 16 to 19.
The Asian Tour International Series, which was launched last year with seven events, will see 10 legs in its second year with Doha making debut in the ground-breaking competition.
Harding, who won his maiden European title in Doha winning the 2019 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, will look for another triumph at the DGC as he will be up against the likes of former major winner Charl Schwartzel and other top ranked golfers.
Qatar will be represented by Saleh Al Kaabi and Jaham Al Kuwari in the tournament.
Among the Indian golfers taking part in the event are Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur and SSP Chawrasia.
Speaking at a press conference to launch the inaugural edition, Qatar Golf Association (QGA) General Secretary Fahad Nasser Al Naimi hoped to host the event every year.
“We are happy to be a part of Asian Tour’s International Series and we are looking forward to becoming a regular member of this series,” Al Naimi told reporters at DGC yesterday.
A view of the Doha Golf Club Course in this file photo.
“This tournament is one of the biggest golf events all over the world. I want to thank Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani for his support in hosting of this competition,” he added.
“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 and the rest are all the 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 predicting strong winds at the weekend, General Manager DGC Gary McGlinchey said the course will pose a tricky challenge for the golfers.
“The 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.
The tournament will mark the first time the Asian Tour has staged an event in Qatar for 16 years.
