Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Top Players Head To Persian Gulf



As I was getting ready to do the preview for this week’s Bob Hope Classic, an interesting thing happened… I fell asleep. Waking up, I thought, “Where are all the PGA Tour stars that I know?” I see Anthony Kim (#8 Official World Golf Rankings – O.W.G.R.) and Fred Couples (#182 O.W.G.R. - #1 in our hearts) are both in the field, but is that really it?

I then made the decision to do the preview for this week’s PGA Tour event tomorrow, while today I’m going to take a look at this week’s tournament featuring seven of the top 14 players in the world: the European Tour’s Qatar Masters held at the Doha Golf Club.

Defending champion Adam Scott is returning to top form, coming off a tie for second in last week’s Sony Open and looking to extend his perfect record in Qatar. He has won his only two starts in the event (2002 & 2008), and last year’s victory was especially dramatic, as he shot a final round 11-under-par 61 to overtake Henrik Stenson, who entered the final round with the lead, shot a 7-under-par 65 and still lost!

Another notable player to watch this week will be Boo Weekley, who is the European Tour’s newest member. Having taken up an Affiliate Membership to hopefully take part in the $10,000,000 “Race to Dubai”, Boo brings a style all-his-own to the Middle East and the European Tour. What he also brings is perhaps the best ball-striking on the planet, so look out if Boo’s putter heats up. When this guy is making putts, he is tough to beat.

Nine of the 12 players from the European Ryder Cup team will be in the field, including last week’s winner in Abu Dhabi, Paul Casey, as well as World #2 and current Race to Dubai leader, Sergio Garcia. Soren Hansen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Oliver Wilson will all be a part of the pseudo-reunion.

Ernie Els is making the trip from Hawaii to the Persian Gulf to tee it up this week, and will be joined by fellow South African and fellow two-time US Open winner, Retief Goosen. Goosen, the 2007 Qatar Masters champ, might be a player to watch! Fresh off his win at the Sunshine Tour’s Africa Open last week, Goosen is playing well and obviously likes the setup at the Doha Golf Club. Retief turns 40 in just a few weeks and may be looking to make one last run as an elite player in the world.

Probably the least known player in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings, Martin Kaymer, is also in the field this week and is my pick to take home the victory. Kaymer made his first appearance of 2009 last week, finishing in a tie for second place. He has finished T-2 three times in his last six starts, and I predict that this will be the week he breaks through.

19-year-old Rory McIlroy has played four events during this 2009 European Tour season and has three finishes inside the top five. The second-year pro from Northern Ireland is currently in 7th place in the Race to Dubai standings and has moved up to 35th in the O.W.G.R. Don’t be shocked to see him win his first tournament before he turns 20 (this coming April). And although I picked Martin Kaymer to win this week’s event, I wouldn’t be surprised to see McIlroy win. I also expect to see him near the top of the Dubai Desert Classic next week.

I think that the European Tour regulars always looks to play well during the Persian Gulf swing, due to the increased prize money, strong fields with PGA Tour players, and elevated international press coverage. Look for this week to be a good one!

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