GGOLFOLF | Page 3 NNBABA | Page 5 Woods among Doncic sets 10 fi nalists for Mavericks triple World Golf Hall double record, of Fame Bucks win big Friday, March 6, 2020 CRICKET Rajab 11, 1441 AH Australia prevail GULF TIMES over SA to set up fi nal against India SPORT Page 4 GOLF / COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS Teenager Nicolai Hojgaard Luiten is one shot off the lead; Harding and rains birdies for lead Valimaki six shots behind Victor Dubuisson of France in action during the first round of Commercial Bank Qatar Masters yesterday. “Nicolai played very well today. We both had a similar starts.... then I dropped a few shots and he kept making birdies. I have to stay in the zone and see what I can do tomorrow.” LEADING ROUND I SCORES 64: N Hojgaard (Den) Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard tees off on the 18th hole during the first round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Education City Golf Club in 65: J Luiten (Ned) Doha yesterday. PICTURES: Jayaram 66: J Campillo (Esp), T Pieters (Bel), L Gagli (Ita), A Sullivan By Yash Mudgal eight holes followed by a second back nine is a bit trickier off the 65. Defending champion Justin (Eng), C Pigem (Esp), J Winther Doha bogey in an impressive opening tee so I would say it was more of Harding and last week’s winner (Den) round to emerge the leader at a three wood on the back nine,” in Oman, Sami Valimaki, are six 67: M Armitage (Eng), S Jamie- seven-under after a 64. the Dane, runner-up behind Ser- strokes adrift of Hojgaard. son (Sco), S Chawrasia (Ind), D oung gun Nicolai Hoj- “It was a good day. I started gio Garcia at the KLM Open last “I am absolutely pleased. Fichardt (RSA), D Drysdale (Sco), gaard stole the limelight out slow, was playing really bad season, said. Seven birdies and one dropped B Hebert (Fra), K Moon (Kor) from past champions on the fi rst four, fi ve, six holes — I His brother Rasmus, who is the shot… that dropped shot came 68: M Siem (Ger), S Heisele (Ger), and his identical twin was still two-under at that point third youngest winner in Euro- out of the middle of the fairway. N Lemke (Swe), M Kinhult (Swe), Ybrother Rasmus on the fi rst day but I was just playing it all over pean Tour history with a dramatic But on a golf course like this, B Poke (Den), R Macintyre (Sco), of the 2020 Commercial Bank the place. My putter was just on play-off triumph at the AfrAsia where it is really tricky on and G Havret (Fra), Y Touhami (Mar), R Qatar Masters yesterday. fi re today, that’s the diff erence,” Bank Mauritius Open in just his around the greens, I was out of Fisher (Eng), W Nienaber (RSA), D And the 18-year-old fi rst-tim- he said. fi fth Tour start, will start his sec- position, so sometimes you just Coupland (Eng) er in Qatar feels that they are all “When I came to the back nine ond round six shots behind his have to accept the bogey. All in India’s Shubhankar Sharma (foreground) lines up a putt yesterday. 69: R Paratore (Ita), C Paisley beatable. I was hitting fairways, hitting twin brother. Rasmus closed out a all, I am happy with my game,” (Eng), F Zanotti (Par), O Fisher “If you play good golf you can it close and rolling the putter. one-under 70 with a disappoint- Luiten said. a good show fi nishing tied 9th tough today in the morning. It (Eng), D Horsey (Eng), M Korho- beat them,” a confi dent Hojgaard You just hit the button and you ing double-bogey at the last hole. Former World No.1 Martin after the fi rst round. His compa- was quite calm compared to what nen (Fin), D Burmester (RSA), A said. keep going. My putter was just Dutchman Joost Luiten, who Kaymer, who has gone six years triot, Shubhankar Sharma, who I had felt on the two days of prac- Rozner (Fra), J Senior (Eng), A The Danish teenager lit up the the diff erence today. I was play- dropped just one shot at the without a major win, fi nished the teed off with Nicolai Hojgaard, tice and the Pro-Am. It was quite Saddier (Fra), M Kieff er (Ger), R back nine. He hit the turn in 35, ing okay with the long game but eighth, is hot on Hojgaard’s heels day at tied 101. fi nished the day with a par round. scoring to be honest; a little bit Langasque (Fra), M Lorenzo-Vera then birdied seven of the next I was just holing everything. The after signing for a six-under India’s SSP Chawrasia put up “The conditions were not that disappointed,” Sharma said. (Fra), J Smith (Eng) SPOTLIGHT Card fi asco disqualifi es former champ Pepperell By Yash Mudgal ing for a birdie at 17th, where he the rules as “a fair distance from I 100% accept that, but I can’t help jamin Hebert, Pepperell dropped Doha actually made a par, but the Eng- common sense”. feeling that this particular way of three shots on his fi rst two holes. lishman later revealed he had ini- “My DQ today wasn’t due to me disqualifi cation is a fair distance The 29-year-old recovered to tially corrected further errors on running out of balls, or hitting an- away from common sense, and sink a trio of birdies at the 12th, ddie Pepperell’s hopes his card. yone, instead, I signed for a wrong that’s also disappointing. I enjoyed 13th and 14th, before picking up a of climbing back into the Pepperell, one of golf’s most score. My total, 71, was correct and the course however and hopefully further two shots at the 16th and top 50 to qualify for the outspoken pros, insisted he ac- I indeed signed for that. However, next time I’ll do a better job,” the 18th. Pepperell was two-under Masters suff ered a big cepted the decision, but he was my partner had me down for a 5 Englishman expressed. at the turn and continued to im- Eblow as he was disqualifi ed from clearly unhappy with the cir- on one hole where I made a 6, and Pepperell, who pulled out of press with another birdie at the the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar cumstances that led to his second a 4 on another, where I made 3,” he last week’s Oman Open due to fi rst. But he double-bogeyed the Masters yesterday. disqualifi cation from a European tweeted. coronavirus fears, entered the third hole and dropped another The former champion had re- Tour event in four months. “Therefore this meant I was week ranked 63rd in the world af- shot at the fourth to fall back covered from a sluggish start to Pepperell’s disqualifi cation disqualifi ed. Quite disappoint- ter an erratic start to 2020, miss- down the fi eld. Pepperell was un- post a level-par 71 at the Educa- in Qatar follows his bizarre exit ing as I actually took the time to ing the cut in South Africa and der par again after another birdie tion City Golf Club (ECGC) yes- from the Turkish Airlines Open change the original error, only Abu Dhabi before bouncing back at the fi fth, before a fi nal bogey terday, but it counted for noth- last November, when he ran out to make a costlier one myself. I with a tie for 11th at the Dubai followed at the ninth. ing after he was disqualifi ed for a of balls in the third round. asked the referee if this had any Desert Classic. Pepperell would need to be scorecard error. Yesterday, the 29-year-old bearing on my disqualifi cation Starting from the tenth and ranked in the top 50 to guarantee The European Tour announced tweeted his disappointment at but it didn’t. playing alongside French duo qualifi cation for the next month’s he had been disqualifi ed for sign- being disqualifi ed and declared “The rules are the rules (sic) and Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Ben- Augusta Masters. Gulf Times 2 Friday, March 6, 2020 GOLF Her Highness Sheikha Moza attends opening of Education City Golf Club Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, yesterday attended the off icial opening of the Education City Golf Club as it hosts its first international tournament, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2020. During the event, Her Highness Sheikha Moza toured the facilities there. HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, also attended the opening ceremony. The state-of-the-art golf club has been designed by former Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal. PICTURES: Aisha al-Musallam and AR al-Baker FOCUS Commercial Bank and ECGC inaugurate Qatar Masters 2020 ommercial Bank has announced the offi cial opening of the Com- mercial Bank Qatar CMasters 2020, which began yes- terday and will continue until Sunday at Education City Golf Club. The opening was attended by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qa- tar Foundation, who inaugurated the Education City Golf Club building, in addition to the Com- mercial Bank Qatar Masters 2020 tournament. On this occasion, HE Abdul Rahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah, member of the Commercial Bank Board of Directors, expressed his pride in the continued success of Commercial Bank Qatar Masters golf tournament, which contrib- uted to establishing Qatar’s po- Keith Pelley, CEO of the PGA European Tour, and leading professional sition for world-class sporting golfer Catriona Matthew at the Education City Golf Club.