By ND Prashant/Doha

 

On a bright sunny day with the winds remaining calm, Portugal’s Ricardo Santos made merry and shot a seven-under par 65 to take a one shot lead on day one of the $2.5mn Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at the Doha Golf Course here yesterday.

Scotland’s Peter Whiteford, England’s Anthony Wall and Frenchman Alexandre Kaleka were one shot behind Santos.

Australian Brett Rumford and Wall’s compatriots Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan, Gary Lockerbie, Simon Khan and Austria’s Martin Wiegele were on five under.

Santos, who last year became Portugal’s first European Tour winner in 20 years, had eight birdies and a solitary bogey on the 11th hole.

“Well, I just played really well, especially my short game. Today I missed a few shots from the tee but then recovered very well and just kept it like that,” said a visibly pleased Santos, who had finished fourth at last week’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championships.

The 30-year-old added that he was keen for a decent finish in The Race to Dubai. “The Race to Dubai, I think is my target this season and play Majors. Last week was an amazing one for me, so it gave me a lot of confidence to come here to Qatar,” added Santos, the 2012 Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

The wind has always been a worry for most golfers on the desert course over the years, and Whiteford was pleased to make the most of the calm conditions.

“You don’t often get Qatar without the wind, so took advantage of it and actually hit the driver for the first time better to give myself a few chances. It was one of those days; it could have been a lot better almost. There was a lot of positive stuff. Hit a lot of good putts, so a delightful day,” said a confident Whiteford.

Defending champion Paul Lawrie and Open champion Ernie Els both had to settle for level par 72s.     Els finishing with a bogey six. Spain’s Sergio Garcia also kick started his season with a 69.

“I think overall, it was good. It was a decent start for being the first tournament and first round of the season. Obviously, a little bit nervy and didn’t know exactly what to expect.  I think 69 is not a bad round to start with,” said Garcia, a 10-time European Tour winner.

Former winner Henrik Stenson also made a confident start and even reached five under at one stage but the Swede lost his way with three bogeys in a row. Stenson finished the day with two under par.

 New Zealand’s Michael Campbell took another step on the comeback trail with a 68. South African Retief Goosen could not recover from a double bogey seven at the start and signed for a 74. Germany’s Martin Kaymer made an excellent start and also managed an eagle on par 4 fourth hole but then struggled with his putting to end the day on four under after a bogey on the last hole.

“Got lucky with one shot and made an eagle. The greens are a little of a struggle this week and obviously in the afternoon, they don’t get better but overall four-under is a good score,” said Kaymer.

Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen, at fourth and fifth in the world the highest-ranked players in the field, were among the later starters and came back with scores of 68 and 71.

Rose also had to serve a penalty at 17 and felt he was ‘hard done by’ the rules of golf. “I think that’s happened to a lot of guys in the past. It’s just unfortunate timing as I had put the putter behind the ball, which I know didn’t cause the ball to move. The ball at that time was finding a little indentation on the green and obviously that caused it to move,” revealed Rose.

 

 

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