Qatar Open Golf Amateur Championship from today
Doha: A total of 126 players including nine Qatari golfers will line up for the 37th edition of Qatar Open Golf Amateur Championship that begins at the Doha Golf Club (DGC) on Thursday. The winner gets a coveted berth for Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2023 scheduled for October later this year.
Saleh Ali Al Kaabi will lead the home charge in the three-day tournament while Ali Al Shahrani, who is the only Al Annabi player to win the tournament (2021), will also compete for his second title.
The list of golfers includes 77 contestants of different nationalities, who play at different clubs in Qatar while the rest have traveled to Doha to take part in the event.
Apart from a place in Qatar Masters that will be played from October 26 to 29 this year, top 10 players will receive prizes at the conclusion of the tournament.
Launching Qatar Open at a press conference, Qatar Golf Association (QGA) Deputy General-Secretary Eng. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Muhannadi said preparations have been finalised to stage the event.
“We received over 150 entries as many golfers showed keen interest in their participation but we had to restrict field to 126 players. We have given priority to the ones with lower handicaps,” Al Muhannadi told reporters at the Doha Golf Club.
“We expect a close competition in presence of some very good golfers. Some of the amateurs, who participated in the Asian Tour’s International Series Qatar, are also featuring in the tournament. The prospect of Qatar Masters entry always takes the best out of golfers in this event,” he added.
DGC General Manager Gary McGlinchey said the conditions are better for golfers than it was last month when the course staged the first edition of Asian Tour’s International Series Qatar.
“The weather is better than it was in the last event but the course will still be a test for the golfers. We are looking forward to a good action in the weekend,” he said.
McGlinchey also spoke about the complimentary messages from top golfers around the world who he said, “find the refurbished Doha Golf Club course ‘tough but fair’.
He expects the Qatar Open Golf Amateur Championship to see top scores of 8 under par as it was during the recent Asian Tour International Series at this course.
Pakistan’s Omar Khalid aims to tackle Doha wind
Meanwhile, Omar Khalid, who became Pakistan’s youngest ever national amateur champion in 2021, praised DGC facilities as he makes his Qatar debut.
“Course is very windy and challenging, rocky desert and fescue on both sides of the fairway make accuracy a must. Practice facilities are top-notch with a huge putting green and range. Both the finishing holes 9 and 18 add to the challenge of closing out a good round,” the 18-year-old said on Wednesday.
“Coming from Pakistan, I am used to the wind but the wind back home does not compare to that of Doha Golf Club. It will be a fun test of golfing skills and I am looking forward to the tournament,” said Omar, who represented Pakistan at the World Amateur Team Championship in Paris and Asia Pacific Amateur in Thailand, and is the only Pakistani golfer to have made the cut in any United States Golf Association (USGA) Championship.
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