– This Thursday marks the start of the Qatar Masters, one of the classic events on the DP World Tour. It has experienced moments of greater and lesser glory, but it has always been there, uninterrupted since 1998. It is played at the Doha Golf Club. Another classic. This will be the 27th tournament on this desert course that has usually been very kind to Spanish golf. Two winners stand out: Álvaro Quirós and Sergio García. The tournament was also won by Jorge Campillo, although on a different course to which it moved for two consecutive and unique editions (2020 and 2021).
– A total of 14 Spaniards are participating. Adri Arnaus, with a card via the School, joins the Armada that competed last week in Bahrain. A solid and powerful contingent.
– The Qatar Masters has an amusing coincidence, a coincidence if you will, nothing scientific, but certainly curious and something we, at least, will take into account. It turns out that its winners have secured a PGA Tour card via the Race to Dubai each year. It may not have a logical explanation, as it is not the tournament that distributes the most points, far from it, but it is an undeniable reality.
For the past three years, the DP World Tour has awarded ten PGA Tour cards at the end of the season to the best in the Race to Dubai who do not already have their playing rights secured on the American circuit. Well, the winner of the Qatar Masters for the last three years has always secured it: Sami Valimaki (2023), Rikuya Hoshino (2024), and Haotong Li (2025). Moreover, the only time it was decided in a playoff, it turns out that Jorge Campillo, who lost in the final duel against Valimaki, also secured the American card via the same route. And if we push it further, it turns out that Rasmus Neergaard Petersen, second last year, also achieved it. Only the Frenchman Ugo Coussaud, second the year Hoshino won, missed out. It may be a coincidence, no doubt, but you can’t deny it’s amusing and worth considering. There are other tournaments like the Qatar Masters in terms of points distribution and they don’t have this overwhelming strategy. We will cling to the popular saying: there must be something in the water when they bless it.
– As we say, there are 14 Spaniards in the running and two matches to watch closely. The first is the one that has paired Pablo Larrazábal and Rafa Cabrera Bello with the strongman Niklas Norgaard. Pablo and Rafa are among those who have played this course the most, and Rafa has splendid numbers. In fact, although he has not yet won, he has three top 3 finishes, just one less than Henrik Stenson, the leader of this particular ranking. Speaking of great results, Álvaro Quirós won here once and finished second twice. He is not participating in this edition because he is still recovering from wrist surgery.
– As for the Spaniards, Sergio García, although not present in this edition, is one of the few players with an average score below 70 on this course. Of those participating this week, only one player can boast of such a thing. It is the Scotsman Ewen Ferguson. In three editions, he has an average of 69.83.
– A great match for Nacho Elvira. It’s no less. The winner of the Dubai Invitational and top 10 in Bahrain will play with Patrick Reed, who has his sights set on the Race to Dubai lead, and Martin Couvra.
– Darren Fichardt is the most experienced golfer playing this week on this course. He won here once and this will be his 21st appearance.
– Jorge Campillo is close to becoming the player with the most accumulated earnings at the Doha Golf Club. To do so, however, he needs to finish first or second. It’s not easy. The leader in this statistic is Henrik Stenson, champion here once and three times runner-up.
– The course is in perfect condition. The novelty this year is that the fairways are narrower, but the area outside the fairways has been cleared. That is, there is less rock, less shrub, less big mess. The greens remain as hard as usual on this course. After all, they are its great defense. One thing compensates for the other. Is it easier or harder? We’ll see. With the fairways narrower, there will be more balls in the rough, and it’s not easy to hold the second shot on those firm greens. On the other hand, with fewer problems outside the fairways, there is less chance of high numbers.
– The wind will again dictate the true difficulty of the course. According to the DP World Tour forecast, wind is expected on Thursday and three calmer rounds on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so the winner should be around -20, although it will also depend on how hard they want to make the greens over the weekend.
