Following Andy Sullivan in Qatar

Andy Sullivan endures a rollercoaster of front nine emotions during the final round in Qatar

GM columnist Andy Sullivan teeing off on the 4th during the final round in Qatar

Jeremy Ellwood sees GM columnist Andy Sullivan run the full gamut of emotions over the front nine on the final day of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

It’s quite some time since I followed a player round in a tournament, so when GM columnist and South African Open winner, Andy Sullivan, had the decency to convert a potential early flight home into a top 20 placing after round two - thanks to a late birdie blitz - I thought the least I could do was watch him live in round four of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

It was an enlightening experience that highlighted perfectly what a battle between man and the game itself golf can be, as ‘Sulli’ took us on a rollercoaster of emotions from the 1st to the 9th

1st – a poor pitch sees a wedge being returned to the bag a tad sharply, but a good first putt and Andy’s away with a safe par.

2nd – an excellent approach to 10 feet is converted to take Andy to 8-under.

 3rd – a decent tee-shot on this testing par 3, but the putt has to go up and over a crest and is by no means easy. The first putt is just close enough for another par.

4th – A good drive is followed by a poor wedge that sees Andy spinning away in disgust with some audible muttering and self-recrimination. Again, a good first putt from 35-40 feet and no damage is done.

5th – Andy’s drive misses the fairway by a few feet and draws a bad lie. The ball doesn’t come out well and the resulting pitch releases and rolls on through. The par-saving putt from 20ft seems destined to drop but hits something a few feet away and stays out. The offending blemish is tapped down repeatedly. Back to 7-under.

6th – “That’s just a straight pull,” Andy cries as his approach heads left, shaking his head in disbelief. Maybe so, but it’s still only 30ft away from where a safe par again ensues.

7th – An excellent wedge to 5ft, after flirting with the sand off the tee, is converted for birdie number too. Back to 8-under.

8th – Not a pin to be messed with close to the water. Andy’s tee-shot finishes 20ft away and the birdie putt just stays high. Another safe par.

9th – “Don’t go behind a rock!” Andy shots as his drive heads way right towards the desert rocks. It doesn’t! It hits a rock full-on and loops back over the ball-spotter’s head before returning to earth in the middle of the fairway just behind Rafa Cabrera-Bello’s perfect drive. Cue much laughter! Better still, Andy then rips driver off the deck onto the green and safely two-putts for a birdie that seemed just a tad unlikely when his drive was in the air.

Two-under on a front nine during which Andy had seemed out of sorts with his game for much of the time. Funny old game, isn’t it? Andy and I had a good laugh about it as he headed for the 10th tee, while I made for the media centre to write this up. Now, if he can just repeat Thursday’s back nine…

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response