The 2020 winner had to return to the course early on day three to finish off his second round, carding four birdies in eight holes to sign for a 65.

And the Spaniard continued his fine form in round three, making six birdies and no bogeys in his first 17 holes to get to 16-under par on Saturday.

He then parred the 18th on Sunday morning to remain one shot clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Finn Sami Välimäki was his nearest challenger on 15-under after finishing his third-round 67 with a birdie at the 18th in near-darkness.

Scottish Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre was a single shot further back following his 70.

His countryman Scott Jamieson was among those another stroke back after firing eight birdies in his final 10 holes on Saturday to give his chances of keeping his DP World Tour card an enormous boost.

Campillo started the day four shots off the lead with eight holes of his second round to complete and reeled off four birdies to sit on 10-under par at the halfway stage of the tournament.

With Daniel Hillier also picking up four birdies in the morning to reach 14-under after two rounds, Campillo remained four strokes back as he got his third round under way.

But he soon set about closing the gap, taking advantage of the par-five first for the third round in succession before adding further birdies at the fifth, seventh and eighth to open up a two-shot lead at the summit.

Campillo made a two-putt birdie on the long 10th to move to 15-under before breaking a run of five successive pars with a birdie at the 16th, having gone agonisingly close to holing his eagle try from almost 80 feet.

He gave himself another outside chance at the par-three 17th but had to settle for a par there, and as he was tapping in, the hooter sounded, meaning his group could not start the 18th until Sunday, when a par saw him remain at 16-under.

Main image: Jorge Campillo. DP World Tour

The post Former champion Jorge Campillo the man to catch in Qatar appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 33-year-old French golfer arrived at the Qatar Masters — the final regular season event counting toward the Race to Dubai — outside the bubble, with the top 116 golfers on the list after this week not only qualifying for the post-season, but getting to keep their tour cards. You can see where we’re going here, but you’ll never believe exactly how Levy’s close call played out.

Needing a late rally in his second round to make the cut to have any chance of keeping his card, Levy birdied the par 4 16th. Then the craziness started. He lipped out for a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th. And then he lipped out this birdie putt on the par-5 18th to officially end his chances.

Ranked 125th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, @alexlevygolf needed to make the cut to give himself a chance of retaining his Tour card.

He lipped out for an ace at the 17th before lipping out again at the 18th to miss the cut.

Golf is hard.#CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/UXuHlc1x8n

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 28, 2023

That’s tough to watch. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be video of the lipped out hole-in-one. Or, maybe that should be fortunately, because that would be even tougher to watch. The golf gods were particularly cruel on this day.

But despite all of that — Levy wound up missing the cut by two strokes at one-under — it’s hard to imagine anyone handling the crushing situation any better. Check out this classy post-round interview:

"I will go to Q School, for sure. I will give everything I have!"

Five-time winner on Tour, @alexlevygolf has the mentality to fight for his card ?#CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/vqy1zTbFts

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 28, 2023

Anyone with the nickname “El Toro” must be pretty tough. And Levy added that he’ll give it his all to earn his card back at Q-School in a couple weeks.

Go get ’em, Alex.

The post Watch as Alexander Levy loses DP World Tour card in crushing fashion after lipping out twice appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The South African headed to Qatar way down in 161st on the Race to Dubai Rankings, and is halfway to delivering the huge week he needs to stay on the DP World Tour.

The 40-year-old followed up his Thursday/Friday 69 with a second-round 65 at Doha Golf Club following a quick turnaround.

He leads alongside Daniel Hillier and Santiago Tarrio on 10-under, who have seven and six holes still to play on Saturday morning in their second round respectively.

Play was suspended due to fading light at 4.58pm local time.

Scots Robert MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson — the defending champion — were a shot further back after nine holes of their second rounds, alongside Edoardo Molinari, who has seven holes remaining.

“I played really solid today,” Aiken said. “We had 31 holes to play, so it was a long day. Early wake-up call.

“It’s a course that I like, I’ve always played well here in the past. Unfortunately with the rain yesterday it got a little wet, normally it plays firm and fast, which is what I like.

“Hopefully it dries up over the weekend and starts playing more like that. But I played really solid. It’s tough competing against these youngsters these days — they hit it so far.

“It’s getting a little tougher to play in your forties, but I still feel like I can win out here. I just need the right golf course.

“Unfortunately I haven’t been able to pick and choose my courses this year. I’ve played a lot of courses I would normally not play, but this is definitely one where I’ve always done well in the past. It’s proving evident, so hopefully the form continues over the next two rounds.”

The post Thomas Aiken shares lead after marathon day at Qatar Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The pair were grateful to be among the early starters at Doha Golf Club, getting in with seven-under rounds of 65 before first a sandstorm and then the threat of lightning forced play to be suspended.

The rain continues to pour #CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/zIO8kSCI2f

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 26, 2023

Scenes you don’t expect to see when in Qatar…

?: @AntoineRozner #CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/P0qcc4HyFk

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 26, 2023

Jamieson’s fellow Scots Stephen Gallacher, Robert MacIntyre and defending champion Ewen Ferguson completed rounds of 66 to share second place with Spain’s Santiago Tarrío.

The leaders both started on the back nine and Jamieson, playing in one of the first groups out at 6am local time, hit the front immediately with a birdie at his first hole, the 10th, and added another three holes later.

He fired four in five holes from the 17th and rounded off a bogey-free day with a seventh birdie at the fifth.

He said: “Delighted with that start. It was pretty solid tee to green and I managed to hole some putts today, which has probably let me down in the last few weeks — certainly been hitting the ball well enough to do better than I have done — but today was a different story.

“It was lovely (being out first). The only problem is it is so humid but you obviously get less wind as you always know you are going to get wind here in the afternoon and the course is a little softer as well so, thankfully, I was able to take advantage of that.”

Hillier was slower to hit his stride but opened with six pars before bursting into life with birdies at the 16th and 18th, an eagle at the par-five first and another birdie at the second.

Further gains at the seventh and ninth took him alongside Jamieson and the New Zealander, speaking before the disruption from the weather, said: “It’ll be interesting to see how it goes this afternoon but I’ll be at the hotel kicking up my feet, so happy days.

“You have to battle with the heat this week. A little bit of wind out there made it bearable. I just didn’t do much wrong, had a good stretch through the middle that put me in a good position and kept my foot down from there.”

Tarrío finished off his own bogey-free round in style with an approach to two feet at the ninth to set up his sixth birdie.

The Spaniard is secure in the top 116 of the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, ensuring his presence on tour for another year.

But he admitted: “I never keep calm with myself. Never. Even with a card safe for next year. My problem is in my head, there’s a lot of wind inside there, never mind the golf course.

“I didn’t play my best golf this year, but I’m happy to stay one year more here with the big guys.”

Gallacher, the only one of the leading sextet to start on the front nine, birdied three of the first four holes and turned in 31 before adding a sixth and final birdie at the 16th.

MacIntyre finished with back-to-back birdies, helped by an approach to six feet at the ninth, while Ferguson turned in 34 before making his move with a hat-trick of birdies from the first.

Finnish pair Kalle Samooja and Sami Välimäki, Sean Crocker, Thriston Lawrence, Andy Sullivan, Pablo Larrazábal and Joshua Grenville-Wood shared seventh place on five-under.

Among those still to complete their rounds, Spain’s Alvaro Quiros and England’s Jordan Smith were highest on the leaderboard at three-under through nine holes.

Scott Jamieson. DP World Tour

The post Qatar Masters: Jamieson and Hillier lead on stormy first day in Doha appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Qatar Masters will makes its return to the DP World Tour schedule in October, alongside the Andalucia Masters, organisers announced on Friday.

The two tournaments will take place in consecutive weeks with prize funds of $3.25 million.

The Andalucia Masters moves to a new venue at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande for the ninth edition of the event. It takes place from October 19-22, a week after the Open de Espana at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

The Qatar Masters returns to Doha Golf Club from October 26-29 for the tournament’s 26th edition.

It will be the last ‘regular’ event of the 2023 season, offering players the final opportunity to secure their DP World Tour cards for the 2024 season via their Race to Dubai Ranking, as well as the chance to qualify for the Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player (from November 9-12).

The 2023 season will then conclude with the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, from November 16-19, which will feature the leading 50 players in the Race to Dubai rankings.

The post Qatar Masters returns to the DP World Tour schedule in October appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

So freaking classy. My apologies to cardigans everywhere. Arnie knew what’s up. Anyway, here’s what other important (and not-so-important) topics have us talking this week.

WE’RE BUYING

Tyrrell Hatton: In your face, Paul Azinger! At least, that’s what a lot of Europeans were feeling after the Brit won his first PGA Tour title—just a few months removed from wrist surgery (more on that later)—at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And what a hard-fought victory it was as Hatton became the first player to win a PGA Tour event with two over-par scores on the weekend since Geoff Ogilvy at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Kevin C. Cox

Also, how good has this Florida Swing been? So much carnage! And we have another Winged Foot U.S. Open to look forward to in June! What a time to be alive! Except for that whole Coronavirus, of course.

European Tour playoff: The Qatar Masters was a wild ride down the stretch as Jorge Campillo went double bogey-bogey to drop into extra holes. But there, both he and David Drysdale put on a show, each birdieing the 18th hole TWICE (not a par 5, mind you) to keep things going. A third birdie by Campillo on his fifth attempt gave him his second win on “that” European Tour. Good for him, although most were rooting for the 44-year-old Drysdale to win his first in his (gulp) 498th start. Imagine getting into a playoff after all that time, coming up clutch with birdies on the first two extra holes, and still losing? Poor guy.

The Canadian Open(?): Oh, Canada! Thanks to a new metric (MOCCASINS) conceived by Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan and brought to life by stats guru Mark Broadie, this tournament in the Great White North has been deemed the greatest of all non majors. OK, so it’s just a seven-year sample size, but the RBC Canadian Open came in at No. 1 among regular events when it comes to producing the best leader boards based on its field during that time span.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The top three tournaments overall—again, according to MOCCASINS—were the PGA Championship, the Open Championship, and the Masters. Sorry, U.S. Open. But don’t worry, you’re still No. 1 in my unofficial CARNAGE ranking.

Rich Beem: The 2002 PGA champ and three-time PGA Tour winner has gotten very familiar with the/that European Tour thanks to his role with Sky Sports the past five years and he joined this week’s Golf Digest Podcast to discuss Azinger’s comments, his infamous victory shimmy, and the player he has a self-professed man-crush on. This was a fun one:

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/rich-beem-best-pga-tour-leader-boards

WE’RE SELLING

Rory McIlroy on Sundays: A quick look at the numbers reveals Rory has shot 67-68-69-73-68-76 on Sundays this season. Not bad, right? Well, sometimes stats don’t tell the entire story. McIlroy had those last four tournaments in his hands and didn’t convert any of them into wins. The good scores came thanks to late pushes after he had already lost the tournament. And the bad scores, like Sunday’s 76 at Bay Hill, may have been enough to keep his top-five streak alive, but they were, well, bad.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Look, no one is immune to final-round pressure (other than peak Tiger), but I’d expect an all-time great—which he is as further evidenced by him becoming the third golfer to be ranked World No. 1 for 100 total weeks—like McIlroy to not play like a mere mortal on Sundays.

Brooks Koepka on any day: The four-time major champ’s struggles reached rock bottom (we think) with an accidental tribute to Kobe Bryant on Saturday. On the bright side, Koepka improved on that 81 by 10 shots on Sunday, but offered this blunt assessment of his game after. “Still shit. Still shit. But putting better.”

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

He’s right, it was better as he finished 44th in strokes gained putting among the 69 players who made the cut. For the season, though, he still ranks 208th(!) in that stat. Woof.

Tiger Woods’ new (sad) schedule: We talked last week about Woods opting to stay away from back-to-back starts, but now he seems to be staying away from non-major starts in general with his decision to skip this week’s Players Championship. The 44-year-old with a fused back is getting closer to a post-crash Ben Hogan (another big cardigan guy) schedule and as sad of a prospect as that is for golf fans, I don’t blame him. Heck, I’m not even 40 yet and I worry about throwing out my back every morning I get out of bed. Those weighted blankets are no joke.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour continues its Florida Swing with the Players Championship, AKA the PLAYERS, AKA that place where even Tiger Woods made a quadruple bogey on the island hole last year. At least Tiger fans don’t have to worry about seeing something like that again with Woods sitting out this week. By the way, I also happen to be a late scratch from TPC Sawgrass, unfortunately. And it has nothing to do with Tiger not being there. I swear. OK, well, maybe it has a little bit to do with that. . .

Random tournament fact: Despite all the debating, the Players Championship is not a major. However, TPC Sawgrass could wind up hosting one this year.

I'm told officials from the PGA Tour and PGA are discussing a contingency plan that could move @PGAChampionship from Harding Park in San Francisco to TPC Sawgrass. PGA statement below. #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/vb1JhQtNUp

— Robert Lusetich (@RobertLusetich) March 9, 2020

As much fun as that would be, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Stay safe out there, folks. And remember to keep washing your hands.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Tiger will play as many events as Sungjae Im this year: 1-MILLION -to-1 odds
—Brooks Koepka will win the Players: 45-to-1 odds (Actual odds. . . value?)
—The Ponte Vedra Beach Chili’s will do a lot less business without me in town: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

That’s the infamous Hinkle Tree being removed from the Inverness Club. The tree, which was planted by the eighth tee before the second round of the 1979 U.S. Open to keep players (notably Lon Hinkle) from using a shortcut to reach the par 5 in two, was cut down after winds recently uprooted it. So RIP Hinkle Tree, but what you stood for won’t be forgotten by the USGA. Protect par at all costs. Even if that means buying a tree for $120 during a golf tournament.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Another week, another full-court putt made at a basketball game. This time the prize was. . . free bacon for a year?

This guy won free bacon for a year… FREE BACON FOR A YEAR!!!

Congrats to Logan for sinking today’s @smokehousemeats Putt for Pig Challenge at @MizzouHoops home finale.#SCTop10 #MIZ ??? pic.twitter.com/dOSlnVEP2m

— Mizzou Athletics (@MizzouAthletics) March 8, 2020

As far as prizes go, this isn’t quite as good as a free car that 84-year-old lady recently got, but it’s a heckuva lot better than the pile of scratch-off tickets the Knicks recently gave some dude for hitting a half-court shot. And in terms of free food, you could do a lot worse than bacon. Mmm. Bacon.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I drank a lot of red wine and played Xbox.” —Tyrrell Hatton on what he did while recovering from his wrist surgery in November.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5dWtRonM0N/?utm_source=ig_embed

Right now, there are a lot of college kids wondering why they aren’t better at golf.

THIS WEEK IN PGA TOUR PRO-WAGS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8sWLc0FnPx/?utm_source=ig_embed

OK, so that is a few weeks old, but it’s the most recent photo we could obtain of this cute couple. Why are we highlighting the Baddeleys, you ask? Because Golf Digest’s latest PGA Tour pro survey OFFICIALLY (sort of) answered an often-asked question concerning WAGs and Richelle came out on top:

Good job by Dave Shedloski and John Huggan doing some important reporting. Just imagining Huggy asking that question made my week. Anyway, the magazine even included this fun illustration:

So congrats to Richelle! And congrats to Aaron! Good going, guy!

THIS AND THAT

Tommy Fleetwood’s active-leading PGA Tour cut streak ended at 33. Pretty good for someone who has only won on that European Tour. . . . Congrats to Ernie Els on winning his first PGA Tour Champions title in his third start and for easily being the guy PGA Tour pros would want on their side in a bar fight, according to our survey. The Big Easy may have been a unanimous choice if he wasn’t 50. . . . The PGA Tour’s new TV deal ensures CBS will continue to broadcast at least 19 events through 2030. In other words, Golf Twitter has something to collectively bitch about for another decade. . . . And as always, my wife—who gets my vote for “best-looking golf writer WAG”—made me this delicious M&M and Kit-Kat encrusted chocolate cake for my birthday:

Although this year, she had to substitute some Cadbury milk chocolate bars around the perimeter because someone* (*me) had already eaten some of the Kit Kats. Anyway, I’m not complaining.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Would Tiger have played if this week was the Masters?
What tree/bunker/lake would you remove from your home course?
What item of food would you like to win a year’s supply of?

The post Tiger Woods’ new (sad) schedule, Tyrrell Hatton’s fun rehab routine, and PGA Tour pros pick the “best-looking” WAG appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
It wasn’t the most formal session of his administrative career. Nor was it, at least initially, the most comfortable. But seated amidst a small group of journalists in the media centre at the Turkish Airlines Open, European Tour chief executive director Keith Pelley opened himself up to a generally friendly interrogation.

“I’m happy to answer questions on any topic,” he said. “But I want to start with Saudi Arabia.”

And why not? Further to the recent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in the Turkish capital of Istanbul, the European Tour has been under pressure to justify the continued presence of the inaugural Saudi International tournament on the 2019 Race to Dubai schedule.

“Like many global companies we monitor situations like this,” Pelley said. “So we have looked at the viability of the golf tournament. I can simply say that the Saudi International is on our schedule for 2019. I really have nothing more to add than that. The Middle East is very important to the European Tour.”

Indeed, as many as five other Middle East events—the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Dubai Desert Classic, the Oman Open, the Qatar Masters and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship—are all slated to join the Saudi event on next season’s 50-strong tournament roster. Two, Abu Dhabi and the DP World, are Rolex Series tournaments worth a minimum of $7 million each. So Pelley was not under-selling the region’s value to the tour.

Further questions followed. To which the eventual answer was always the same: “the Saudi International is on our schedule for 2019.”

No, no consideration has been given to cancelling the event.

No, not one player has expressed any misgivings about the event.

No, there has been no dialogue with the Saudi Arabian Golf Federation.

No, there has been no conversation with the U.K. government.

No, no other European Tour sponsors have expressed any misgivings about the event.

“I have had no dialogue with partners, our own government, or the SA federation,” Pelley said. “The event is on our schedule.”

Moving right along, Pelley was clearly a lot more comfortable talking about something other than Saudi Arabia. Like so many administrators he is a pseudo-politician, able to prattle on almost endlessly on subjects likely to shine a positive light on his organization.

Next up was a mildly interesting chat regarding the Rolex Series. Using the average—and often disappointing—World Rankings of the fields as a guide, is the sponsor getting value for money? “Of course,” said Pelley.

“The media value is not all about World Rankings,” he continued. “I don’t evaluate fields strictly on World Rankings. Take the recent CIMB Classic on the PGA Tour versus our British Masters. Which had the strongest field?

“If you look at the World Rankings, you would say the CIMB. But the British Masters had Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, three of the top-15 players. CIMB had one, Justin Thomas. They had more in the top 30 and top 50. They also had Ernie Els. But we had four former World No. 1s, Rose, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer. Plus, a three-time major winner in Padraig Harrington. So from a consumer’s perspective what is the better field? What resonates more with consumers? Players like Lee, who has won events in 19 different countries.”

Inevitably, attention turned to the Ryder Cup, a subject never far from any European Tour official’s mind. The recent event in Paris was, according to Pelley, a resounding success quite apart from the Old World’s emphatic victory. And he was at pains to underline the fact that recent rumours regarding the sustainability of the 2022 match Italy are just that—rumors. OK, the course being built at the Marco Simone Country Club near Rome is behind schedule, but nothing has changed, and the event will not be going to Ireland or The Belfry or anywhere else.

“I’ve said along, the 2022 Ryder Cup is going to Italy,” Pelley said. “Our design team is there on a weekly basis. Construction is underway. People talk about problems, but they are nothing but speculation. We have had discussions about the opening ceremony being held in the Colosseum. Serious conversations with Italian decision makers and officials. It’s going to be spectacular.”

Paolo Bruno

Well, it will be if the opening ceremony is actually held in the Colosseum four years from now. But take a closer look. Pelley wasn’t saying the deal is done, only that talks have been held. The results of those talks remain unknown. Slick. He really is a good politician.

The post European Tour chief talks schedule, perceptions and a Ryder Cup opening ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
ANTALYA, Turkey — The number of events remains the same—47—but the European Tour’s “Race to Dubai” in 2018-’19 will change shape more than a bit as officials revealed their new schedule on Monday. Some of that can be attributed to the alterations in the PGA Tour schedule, in particular the PGA Championship’s move from August to May. As a result, the European Tour’s so-called flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, will be played four months later than usual, in September starting next year.

Happily too, nervousness about the future of the recently resurrected British Masters have been dispelled with the news that Tommy Fleetwood will follow fellow Englishmen Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose in hosting the only regular event in England. The mid-May date is not ideal, one week before the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, but the venue, the Hillside club next to Royal Birkdale in Fleetwood’s home town of Southport, is top-notch.

“I can’t wait to host the British Masters in my home town,” Fleetwood said in a release. “It will be such an honor, and I’m so grateful to have been asked. … I am very confident that Southport will make everyone welcome and the north west of England, and its love of golf, will embrace this opportunity and show support to us all.”

RELATED: Patrick Reed ready to focus on Race to Dubai, and forget the Ryder Cup

A continuing commitment to variety and innovation will also play a significant part in the schedule that concludes with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next November. As many as five events—Golf Sixes, the Trophee Hassan, the Victorian Open, the World Super 6 and the Shot Clock Challenge—will offer welcome departures from the traditional 72-hole stroke-play model. In three of those, the Trophee Hassan, Golf Sixes and the Vic Open, men and women will play alongside each other.

The French Open’s move from late June to October will provide a continental feel to autumn as the tour moves from Spain to Italy to France to Portugal. Africa is represented too, with the South African Open, the Alfred Dunhill Championship and, promoted from the Challenge Tour, the Kenyan Open.

Not everything has changed though. The Irish Open at Lahinch and the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club will continue to provide two weeks of links golf preceding next July’s Open Championship, which will be played outside Great Britain for only the second time, at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

Perhaps most controversial given recent events will be the inaugural Saudi International, which joins the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Dubai Desert Classic, the Oman Open and the Qatar Masters in a now five-strong Middle East swing either side of two weeks in Australia and the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Otherwise, the overall schedule represents little more than a shuffling of a familiar European Tour pack, one that will be hoping the earlier finish to the PGA Tour season will allow more of its stars to make late-season appearances closer to home. Time will tell on that one.

The post What’s the same, and what’s different, about the new 2018-’19 European Tour schedule appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

While Football’s 2022 FIFA World Cup is the headline event under a cloud following Monday’s decision by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt to sever ties with the Gulf state citing alleged terrorism concerns, the 2018 Qatar Masters is a more pressuring sporting concern.

The suddenness and severity of the actions taken by Qatar’s three Arabian Gulf neighbours and Egypt came as a surprise to many in the region, let alone to the European Tour presumably.

However, with 47 tournaments in 26 countries, security is an on-going challenge for the Tour and has only been heightened by three recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.

A European Tour spokesman told GolfDigestME.com it would continue to monitor the fluid developments in what has been described as the worst diplomatic crisis to hit Gulf Arab states in decades. Yemen and the Maldives also cut ties with Doha which has rejected the accusations, calling them “unjustified” and “baseless”.

“The European Tour constantly monitors what is happening in all of our host countries, taking any advice from the Home Office where appropriate and we will continue to do so for all our tournaments around the world,” the spokesman said in a statement.

There was already uncertainly surrounding the $2.5 million Doha Golf Club event before Monday’s developments, with on-going sponsorship and scheduling challenges.

While the European Tour won’t release its 2017-18 schedule until October at the earliest, Golf Digest Middle East understands the Qatar Masters, traditionally the middle event of the Tour’s three tournament, early-season Desert Swing, is to be moved to a date after the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Omega Dubai Desert Classic are played back-to-back in late-January, early February.

It all means a scheduled meeting between Nick Tarrartt, Director of the European Tour’s Dubai office, and Qatar Masters officials next week now takes on even greater importance.

But how even that meeting will be held is now up in the air with the UAE among those to close its airspace and waters to Qatar aircraft and vessels and cancel all commercial flights to and from Doha. Qatari diplomats have been given 48 hours to leave the UAE and Qatari citizens residing in the seven emirates 14 days to vacate.

South Korean 21-year-old Jeunghun Wang won the famed Pearl Trophy at Doha GC in late January when he edged Swede Joakim Lagergren and South African Jaco Van Zyl in a playoff.

Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Henrik Stenon, Retief Goosen, new European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, Paul Lawrie, Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace are former Qatar Masters champions.

The post European Tour to be guided by Home Office on Qatar Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I was about 200 yards away because I couldn’t get close to him. Yeah… just too many people watching.”

Fast-forward three years and the Dubai-adopted Indian amateur finds himself with a much crisper view from inside the ropes alongside the 14-time major champion and two-time Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner here at Emirates Golf Club.

“It’s a bit different,” said the 17-year-old in his pre-tournament press conference alongside Australian Curtis Luck, the world’s No.2 ranked amateur. No kidding.

“For sure, he’s a huge role model for me,” Thomas said of Woods. “I’ve probably watched every major of his on YouTube. I look at him as one of the greatest athletes of all time.”

While this is Woods’ eighth appearance in Dubai, it will be Thomas’ bow in a tournament and on a course, the majestic Majlis, that has helped shape his amateur ambition.

“I’ve been wanting to play this event for a while now. Since I’m at least 12, I’ve been coming out to watch this event, and it’s great to be here at home.”

Run us through some of your favourite Desert Classic memories then, those ones from outside the ropes?

“Just like sort of being in the clinics with, I remember there was Pete Cowen, and I think Lee Westwood was there, [and me] asking some silly questions and Pete giving me some stick about it. Just walking around and being in that atmosphere, and suddenly you’re inside the ropes; it’s a bit different.

“Being around some big names, it’s great for me to put myself in this position for the future, and hopefully in four or five years I’ll be out here with these guys. It’s good to get comfortable soon.”

The Desert Classic will be Thomas’ third European Tour start and given he knows the Majlis “like the back of my hand”, arguably his best chance of making the cut.

He shot rounds of 79-75 at last year’s Qatar Masters to finish 10 over par but showed he’s getting more comfortable in exalted company with rounds of 72-75 to finish three over and five shots shy of the weekend in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago. Since Abu Dhabi he’s added a little loft to his driver in the hope of producing a little more carry spin and to eliminate a “big left miss” that cost him on The National.

“I try not to give myself expectations, but you always expect something,” Thomas continued

“Abu Dhabi was good for confidence, just to be around those guys. It’s always a bit intimidating when you play a European Tour event. It’s good to play in those conditions and sort of get used to those quicker greens and thicker rough, which you don’t get much around here.

“As long as I just play my best and stick to my routines, I’ll be fine. But yeah, there’s always a little bit of pressure.”

As well as looking across at Luck in the press conference, Thomas also admitted to looking up to the to U.S. and Asia Pacific Amateur champion Luck who is ranked 110 places higher than the Indian and announced he will return professional after playing the U.S. Masters in April.

Asked if he was also thinking of switching to the paid ranks, Thomas put his station in the golfing scheme of things into perspective.

“I’ve still got to finish school first in just about two years, and then decide after that, 2019.”

The post VIDEO: Rayhan Thomas <br> on Tiger and being <br> inside the ropes at <br> his “home” Desert Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.