BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Britain’s Oliver Fisher yesterday produced a birdie blitz to grab the lead at the $2.5m Qatar Masters where Spain’s Rafa Cabrara-Bello put behind his miserable week in Abu Dhabi with a 6 under par 66 card.
Fisher, who was tied for the 12th spot at last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship, managed a calm exterior as he scored eight birdies to end the day at Doha Golf Club (DGC) with an impressive card of seven under par 72.
Britain’s Mark Foster was tied for the third spot with a pack of 10 golfers that included former champions Paul Lawrie of Scotland and South Africa’s Ernie Els and his compatriot Darren Fichardt.
Defending champion Sergio Garcia - who kicked off the day with Els and Henrik Stenson - ended his opening round at 3 under par 69 at the 7,374-yard course.
Ireland’s Damien McGrane and seven others were tied for fourth with 4 under par 68.
Fisher, 26, sparkled with a hat-trick of birdies after starting from the back nine.
A bogey on hole 13 - when the Briton dropped a shot - slowed the day’s leader but he recovered with birdies on holes 16, 17 and 18 before picking up further shots on holes four, six and eight.
“It’s always nice to start a round with birdie and I made a few more in the later part of the first nine, at 16, 17 and 18. On the front nine, I played lovely,” Fisher said.
“It was a good round. I’m happy with the way I played and hopefully I can keep it going for the next few days,” Fisher, who is looking to add to his sole European Tour victory at the 2011 Czech Open, added.
“I played nice last week and shot a good round on Sunday, so it’s nice to finish a tournament like that.
“I’m hitting the ball well after a few years where I struggled with my long game, but now I’m striking the ball well and giving myself chances.”
Earlier under clear blue skies, Cabrera-Bello set the pace by carding six birdies to grab the lead for a short while at the picturesque DGC.
The 30-year-old showed no signs of the sluggish show that forced him to miss the cut at last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship as the Spaniard yesterday birdied holes 1, 2, 8, 12, 16 and 18 to card six under par 66.
Cabrera-Bello, joint third last year, was a pleased man after the first round.
“Obviously I’m very pleased, happy the way I played and looking forward to tomorrow and the weekend,” Cabrera-Bello said.
“I had a good stretch through 16 and all the way through two, which for me are the birdie holes, the ones where you can go low. I managed to do that with three birdies there and just kept playing solid till I got home,” he added.
Els, one of 11 golfers tied for third, said he could go all the way.
“Today I didn’t hit it that good with the irons, but got the ball up‑and‑down. I’m not feeling so tense and afraid of those short putts,” Els said.
“We can play golf again,” said Els, who has won 28 European Tour titles, including his fourth Major at the 2012 Open Championship. “I was on the long putter and last year I had to really convert back. I started with a 37‑inch putter and I’m now down to a 35‑inch putter, which I had in my 20s.
“I’m quite tall and like to put with my big muscles, like the shoulders, elbows and so on. The way I was standing with the long putter, the hands were taking over. In any case, I looked at some old video and it just feels really good now.”
Garcia, aiming to defend his title, suffered a bogey on hole 6 before staging a mini-recovery with birdies on holes 7, 9, 13 and 18 to card 3 under par 72.
Rose, 34, continued his fine form from Abu Dhabi with a 68, a score matched by playing partner Stephen Gallacher, his Ryder Cup team-mate.
“I mean, 68 is a good start,” said Rose, who closed with a 65 to finish 12th in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
“It’s obviously not an electric pace, but nice to be somewhere in contention and it’s a score on which to build for the rest of the week. It’s the perfect type of start, really,” he added.
“I’ve had four consecutive rounds in the 60s, so it’s always nice to do that.
“It tells me I’m doing some things well. I think the area of my game that’s been keeping me together is my chipping.
“I’ve been chipping the ball nice when arrive been making mistakes. I just need to keep that going and continue to improve the rest,” he added.
Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion and third member of the high-profile group with Rose and Gallacher, carded a 69 after bogeys on the last two holes. THE PENINSULA
