Doha, Qatar: The Commercial Bank Qatar Masters makes its return to the picturesque Doha Golf Club (DGC) tomorrow, marking the climax of a thrilling five-week series in the Middle East. The prestigious event, now in its 27th edition, occupies a pivotal slot in the DP World Tour calendar and will see top golfers vying for honours.
This year’s tournament, part of the International Swing of DP World Tour’s ‘Back 9’ buildup, boasts a lucrative $2.5m prize fund and offers 500 Race to Dubai points to the winner.
This year’s Qatar Masters will also see the return of the event to its early-year slot, promising a gripping finale to the desert run.
Addressing a pre-event press conference held at the DGC yesterday, Qatar Golf Association’s Secretary General Fahad Nasser Al Naimi expressed optimism for the upcoming tournament, citing the participation of a prominent group of players and the readiness of the venue to host the event. Al Nuaimi also highlighted the presence of eight past champions among the competitors.
The presence of eight former winners, such as Ewen Ferguson, Antoine Rozner, and Jorge Campillo, adds more colour to an already stellar field. These past winners, along with others like Eddie Pepperell and Wang Jeunghun, are aiming to reclaim the prestigious Mother of Pearl Trophy. The 2013 winner Chris Wood will make his tour return since 2022, as the past title holders will have to deal with prominent talents in the caliber of Pablo Larrazabal, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Yannik Paul, who are all set to showcase their skills.
However, a notable absentee is last season’s champion, Sami Valimaki.
The Qatar national team will be represented by Saleh Al Kaabi, while Ali Al Shahrani, who is undergoing treatment following an injury, will miss the tournament.
Al Naimi extended gratitude to the Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani for his continuous support to golf and the tournament, as well as Commercial Bank for their generous sponsorship.
Commenting on the long-term partnership with the tournament as well as DGC, Commercial Bank’s Marketing, and Alternative Assets EGM Hussein Al Abdullah said they are proud of all the milestones the two parties have achieved throughout the 27-year period as the title sponsor of the event.
“Commercial Bank has created a legacy that empowers possibilities and Qatar Masters bears witness to that. As we step into our 27th year as Title Sponsor of this event, I can’t help but feel proud of all the milestones we have achieved. Our mission will always center around building a promising future for Qatar,” Al Abdullah said.
“For us, golf transcends its prestigious image; it serves as a networking platform for individuals sharing a common interest in discussing current events and business opportunities. Through our commitment to advancing technology, Commercial Bank is investing in AI and digital services, ushering in a new era of financial innovation. This event serves as a hub where business professionals and golf enthusiasts converge, fostering connections and conversations in an upscale environment, shedding light on the Bank’s strides in digital offerings,” Al Abdullah said.
“On behalf of myself, the Commercial Bank family, the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors, Executive Management, and employees to extend our gratitude to all our partners for instilling their confidence in us and in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters tournament. I would also like to thank Doha Golf Club for hosting the championship event on the grounds of its prestigious facility,” Al Abdullah said.
Addressing the gathering, DP Word Tour Senior Tournament Director Mikael Eriksson said the DGC course is in wonderful condition ahead of the event.
“It’s only 96 days ago we left the 2023 Qatar Masters and we are delighted to be back here for the 2024 event. And the course here is in wonderful condition. Players who have come here for many years say they have not seen the Doha Golf Club in better condition ever. And this might be the best Golf course we play on all year. It will be a tough test out there with a little bit of wind on Thursday and Friday with the wind dying down for the weekend. And it’ll be truly a great test that will bring the best player to lift the trophy on Sunday,” Eriksson said.
“In my estimation will be minus 15,” Eriksson predicted
To get a good start this early in the season with all the opportunities that have been offered to them nowadays yeah uh it’s a good point um it is really important for the players to uh to get a good start and uh goes back to my point about this sits in our our
New international swing so we have uh uh we this is the fifth of eight events going across the Middle East and down into Africa uh at the end of that swing uh there will be a bonus uh uh a bonus SP awarded to the leading player of the
Swing and exemptions into our back n swing towards the end of the year so it’s all about playing our this this year is about playing our our tournament in uh in swings across the season and giving opportunities to the best performing players at the end of the
Year as we build up towards our our end of season playoffs uh how many players I mean what is the opportunity that you’re given to the players that finishes on the top at the end of the year what kind of doors do you open up the PGA Tour yeah so at
The end of the season um at the end of the season through our alliance with the PGA Tour which of course uh is a very strong one um the the leading 10 players on our race to to buy order of Merit not already exempt we and uh we’ll and uh a
Card onto the PGA Tour um but at the same time we also now have exemptions where re welcome PGA Tour players to come back and play on our tour so again that’s the sign of the alliance that we have with the PGA Tour creating a pathway for players both ways thank you Tom
