Commercial Bank Qatar Masters preview

The European Tour stays in the Middle East this week for the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at the Doha Golf Club, where a top-quality field has assembled.

Paul Lawrie

The European Tour stays in the Middle East this week for the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at the Doha Golf Club, where a top-quality field has assembled.

It is the second tournament of the European Tour's Desert Swing, with Jamie Donaldson prevailing at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Rafa Cabrera-Bello defending in Dubai next week.

Paul Lawrie won the first of his two events in 2012 at the Qatar Masters last season, but, this year, competition will be fierce for his highly-coveted crown.

The tournament made its first appearance on the European Tour schedule in 1998, and has seen an impressive list of victors over the years.

Lawrie (who also won in 1999), Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Henrik Stenson and Thomas Bjorn have all won in Doha.

The Aberdonian played some fine golf last year en route to a four-shot triumph over Jason Day and Peter Hanson. Lawrie and Hanson return again this year alongside a host of stars, including world number four Justin Rose - who finished second last week - Louis Oosthuizen - who won the 2013 Volvo Golf Champions - Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer and Jason Dufner.

"I think I gained something last week. I'm very happy with where my game is and I want to continue in the same vein here in Qatar," said Rose.

Oosthuizen is also relishing this week's test. "I feel like I'm swinging it really well at the moment. I always love coming to the Middle East. I tend to play well here and I love the golf course," he said.

The Doha Golf Club is not as long as the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, but the rough will be of a similar length. Water comes into play on several holes and it possesses a selection of very demanding par-3s. The greens are also very large, so good lag putting will be key this week.

Tournament: Qatar Masters Venue: Doha Golf Club Date: Jan 23-26 Course stats: par 72, 7412 yards Purse: €2,500,000; winner: €310,917 Defending champion: Paul Lawrie (-15)

TV Coverage:

Wednesday 23 - Sky Sports 2 from 6.30 am Thursday 24 - Sky Sports 1 from 6.30 am Friday 25 - Sky Sports 2 from 9.30 am Saturday 26 - Sky Sports 3 from 8.30 am

Player Watch:

Justin Rose - The Englishman seems to be in contention most weeks nowadays and he'll be buoyed after a very good start to the season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Martin Kaymer - The German looks to be more or less back to his best and a top-ten last week could be the springboard for a first European Tour win since November 2011.

David Howell - The veteran Englishman suffered a heartbreaking four-putt from five feet last week to fall out of the lead, but he'll take a lot of positives from his sixth-place finish.

Key hole: 18th. The 589-yard par-5 18th is reachable for the longest hitters, but could also pose some problems. This could well be the setting for some late drama, especially with water running up the left side of the hole and flanking the putting surface.

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x