The Chinese Ashun Wu (-5) and the South African Zander Lombard (-5) lead the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after the first day. The South African’s result is a bit more noteworthy, as he achieved it in the afternoon round, where the wind’s action was felt more. Lombard continues to excel in a great start to 2024, where the worst he has done so far was to finish 16th in the Dubai Desert Classic. In addition, he has competed in 19 of the last 25 weeks, and that with the Christmas break in between. It doesn’t matter to him. He is a bulldozer that only lacks finesse to finish, because he has not yet won any tournament on the European circuit.
The wind and the firm greens of the Doha Golf Club have left us with a balance of 46 players who have managed to play below par and 92 who have not, and we have 67 players within a narrow margin of five strokes with the head with 54 holes to play. Excellent outlook, therefore, that we have left: these ‘tight’ tournaments are especially interesting.
Among those 46 in red numbers, by the way, eight Spaniards appear, making good the recent (and not so recent) history of this tournament, which in the last fifteen years has always had some Spanish player among the best, when not among those who were directly playing the tournament in the last holes on Sunday and even winning it.
Alejandro del Rey (-1), Santi Tarrio (-1) and Adrián Otaegui (-1) have joined in the afternoon round to Jorge Campillo (-2), Manu Elvira (-2), Nacho Elvira (-2), Pablo Larrazábal (-1) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), who had already played below par in the morning. Any of these eight could be on the leaders’ back tomorrow… Even the reaction of Alfredo García Heredia (+1), Sebas García (+1), Iván Cantero (+1) or Ángel Hidalgo (+2), who are not so far away, should not be ruled out. Another thing is Álvaro Quirós (+12), who must have suffered on the course today what is not written.
Tomorrow is more of the same: wind all day, although with less intensity in the early hours, a time frame in which you have to take advantage of everything you can. Lombard, for example, goes out to play at seven in the morning, the same as Otaegui, who plays in the same match as the South African. And Sebas opens the field at about 6.15…
