Tag Archives: Qatar Masters

Is 2014 going to be Sergio Garcia’s Year?

Well it’s fair to say that Sergio Garcia has had an up and down career, and especially over the past 5 years has been the hardest of all for him.

He has gone from being one of the best players in the game to totally falling out of love with the game, but it looks like he’s right back to his best and seems to be enjoying life on and on the golf course more than ever.

Since finding love, Garcia seems to in a much better place and is much more comfortable with himself and with his golf as his recent performances would indicate .

Since bursting onto the scene when he was just 19 years old when he finished second to Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship at Medinah in 1999 after an enthralling contest, and if you remember he hit a remarkable shot from behind tree to get himself and the crowed really pumped up.

Take a look at the shot here:

He has also always been a prominent force in the Ryder Cup matches, even when his form had deserted him he managed to find a way to get the job done under the upmost pressure to help guide Europe to victory on many occasion.

Last season he looked to recapture some of the form that we had previously witnessed from the young spaniard and had a steady finish to the 2013 PGA Tour season with three top 20 finishes including a tie for ninth place in the Tour Championship.  He also ended last season with a win on an Asian Tour event.

This season also started well with a win in the Qatar Masters and a handful of top 25 finishes.

Garcia has always performed pretty well in the majors throughout his career, and let’s hope that one of the three left in this season will belong to a player that undoubtedly deserves one.

Garcia Wins Thrilling Finale in Qatar

The Qatar Masters ended in dramatic style with a three hole play-off between Sergio Garcia and Mikko Ilonen.

Garcia managed to get in the clubhouse at 16 under par after a late surge for the second year running to post a 65 which included a missed 8 foot putt on the last which had left the door just slightly a-jar.

He looked certain to claim victory until Ilonen managed to hole a 20 foot putt on the 18th to force extra holes. A very similar situation to 12 months ago when Garcia and George Coetzee lost in a play-off to England’s Chris Wood.

So off they went back down the 18th which they both birdied without any fuss, but the second time around Garcia found trouble in the right greenside bunker after Ilonen had found the green in two, but a wonderful bunker from Garcia left him with no more than a tap in to halve the hole in four.

As the light was fading and so was the temperature you felt this was going to be the last hole available to play, Ilonen found the right hand bunker in two shots but his slight over hit shot left him with a tricky 20 foot putt down the hill which he failed to convert leaving Garcia with a simple tap in for victory.

A great finish to what was a great event to watch and which never seems to disappoint.

Next we’re onto the Dubai Desert Classic where we will see a lot of the worlds top 20 competing including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Coetzee One Shot Clear After Strong Finish In Doha

A strong finish from George Coetzee saw him take the lead after day one of the Qatar Masters in Doha.

The South African finished the day with three straight birdies to get himself to an eight-under-par round of 64 to go one shot clear of Dawie van der Walt and Steve Webster.

Steve Webster got he’s round off to the best possible start when he started at the 10th and managed to hole his second shot for an albatross on the shortish par 5.

Webster made history as it was the first time anybody had ever a started a European Tour event with an albatross., it’s not Webster’s first albatross though he managed it back in 2011 at The Italian Open.

There are some very good players just a shot further back which include major winners Ernie Els, Paul Lawrie, and John Daly.

With so many good players in contention the weekend really could be an exciting one!

 

Ryder Cup Duo Fight It Out At The Top

Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, who were team-mates at the miracle comeback in Medinah, are tied at the top of the leaderboard in the Qatar Masters. There are four players sharing the lead in Doha after two rounds, the other players are Marcus Fraser and Ricardo Santos. 

Garcia played a near perfect round of golf shooting a 66 on a calm day in the desert, whilst Kaymer shot a bogey-free 67. Garcia had plenty of chances to make more birdies but the putter deserted him on these occasions.

There are many players within striking distance though, with the leaderboard looking quite bunched at the moment.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Ernie Els was struggling with the putter and struggling to make the cut going into the 16th at one over par, but a birdie and two pars was enough see him through to the weekend.

It’s all set up for a great couple of days of golf, make sure you tune in to watch!

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Bjorn: “Olesen Could Be The Best In The World”

The Great Dane Thomas Bjorn has said that fellow Dane Thorbjorn Olesen could be one of the greatest players in the world.

He’s not wrong, he certainly has got a lot of talent and a lot of determination and guts to go with that ,which can be a leathel combination going forward.

They both teed it up together in the first round of the Qatar Masters and Olesen shot a fantastic four under par 68 to find himself three shots off the lead.

Olesen won his first European Tour title last year at the Sicilian Open, and  has since climbed to 42nd in the world after his second place finish last week in Abu Dhabi.

Keep your eye on this young man, he will be contending a lot this season and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him up there in a major too!