Wood revelling in his role as defending Commercial bank Qatar Masters champion
Chris Wood returns to the scene of his finest hour bidding to become the first player to mount a successful title defence of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which marks the second leg of The European Tour’s three-part ‘Desert Swing’.
Photo:Getty Images
Wood claimed his maiden European Tour victory in stunning style at Doha Golf Club 12 months ago, closing with an eagle three to see off South African George Coetzee and Spaniard Sergio Garcia by a single stroke.
It was the performance of a seasoned champion rather than a 25 year old looking for his first win, and saw the Englishman realise the potential he had first displayed when finishing tied fifth in The 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Wood relived his final hole heroics for TV on Tuesday afternoon but, given the purity of all three shots, understandably he struggled to recreate the magic in full.
“I think we could be out there a while,” he joked before heading out to the 590 yard 18th hole, which he last year tamed with a booming drive, a crisp six iron from 200 yards and a nerveless putt from 12 feet.
“I don’t think I’ll hit three better shots than that, under the circumstances. For me to beat that would be to hit three shots like that to win an Open Championship.
“There’s a lot more pressure on winning your first event on The European Tour than winning your second or third, so I was obviously very proud of how I handled that pressure.
“As soon as I arrived here, it brought back some great memories. Obviously my first win on The European Tour is always going to be special to me, and Qatar is going to always be up there as one of my favourite events.”
The Commercial Bank Qatar Masters is also a favourite of Garcia’s, the World Number 11 who is making his eighth consecutive appearance in the US$ 2.5million tournament.
The Spaniard boasts a remarkable record in the event, having finished inside the top ten five times in his last six visits to Doha.
“I really like the golf course,” he said. “It’s played nice and tough down the years, and it’s a very good tournament to start the year off. So hopefully I can have another good week here and see if I can get a win. That would obviously be great, but at the least I want to have a nice, solid week.”
Garcia shares pre-tournament favouritism with Stenson, who admitted to rustiness on his return to action in Abu Dhabi last week.
Like Garcia, the Swede, who swept the boards on both sides of the Atlantic last year, boasts a special affinity with Doha Golf Club, having won the tournament in 2006 and finished runner-up on three occasions.
Stenson said: “It’s been a happy hunting ground for me, and it feels like I’m slowly waking up after the winter break. Last week was not quite what I wanted, but I had limited preparation and it feels like I’m now starting to hit the ball a lot better.
“It was a bit rusty last week, but I’d say today was as well as I’ve hit it this side of Christmas. So it feels like the game is heading in the right direction for sure, and I’m looking forward to the week.”
