Qatari golfer Saleh Al Kaabi hits a shot during the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club. Al Kaabi had a score of four-over-par 76 yesterday, his second-best score at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Saleh Al Kaabi vowed to improve after carding a four-over-par 76 yesterday for his second-best score at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Making his fifth straight appearance in the European Tour event, Qatar’s top amateur bogeyed one, four, six and seven before steadying the ship with six straight pars.
Al Kaabi, 22, birdied 14 but was unfortunate to lose his ball off the tee at the par-five 16th, leading to a bogey. His best score in four previous appearances at the European Tour event was a second-round 70 in 2014.
“I could have done better as I missed three short par putts on the front nine and had bad luck on 16 when I lost my ball. I was a bit disappointed to miss the small putts. On 16, my tee-shot hit the top of the rocks and nobody nearby could see it. I went back to the tee, hit the green with my second shot, then had two putts so did quite well to only make a bogey there,” said Al Kaabi, who has a one-year-old son.
“My score should be better. Tomorrow’s another day. For sure, if I keep hitting the ball like I am, I know I can shoot a better score. I can make a really low score tomorrow.”
Al Kaabi entered the tournament high on confidence after shooting a closing 67 to finish runner-up at this month’s Qatar Open Amateur at Doha Golf Club, having finished third at November’s King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain and won December’s SGF Open amateur tournament in Saudi Arabia.
He is one of two Qatari amateurs in the field along with 29-year-old debutant Abdulrahman Al Shahrani.
Al Kaabi tees off on hole 10 at 10.50am today, while Al Shahrani starts at 8.30am, also on hole 10. Today's second-round action starts at 6.30am, with the last groups teeing off at 12.20pm.
Leading contenders this week include World Number 10 Alex Noren, 2016 Ryder Cup rookies Rafa Cabrera Bello, Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan, Austria Number One Bernd Wiesberger, Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood, 11-time European Tour winner Martin Kaymer, four-time Ryder Cup star Graeme McDowell and four-time Major winner Ernie Els.
First held in 1998, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters has helped establish Qatar as a world-class sporting venue and is considered the country’s annual ‘must-attend’ sporting and social event. Sitting at the heart of the European Tour’s Middle East swing, the tournament attracted over 25,000 spectators in 2016 and was broadcast to a global TV audience of over 400 million.
