Andy Sullivan is tied at the top of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters leaderboard alongside Spaniard Jorge Campillo after the Nuneaton GC member shot his second 66 in Dhoa. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

JORGE Campillo and Andy Sullivan shared the lead heading into the weekend at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

But they have a host of European Tour winners breathing down their necks at Education City Golf Club – the new venue for the event which has been a cornerstone of the European Tour’s Desert Swings for 20 years.

Sullivan – looking for his first European Tour title since he claimed three in 2015 to earn his Ryder Cup place in 2016 – took advantage of the low winds in the morning to fire a second consecutive 66 to get to 10-under.

And it looked for a long time as if the man from Nuneaton Golf Club would not be caught at the top of a congested leaderboard.

Sullivan, whose maiden win came at the South African Open early in the 2015 season, said: “I’ve got it under lock at the moment.

“I feel like I am control of myself, which is the most important thing for me, I really felt like I took my time a little bit more on shots and stuff.

“When I have been doing well before I generally rush the shot, maybe try to hit it a bit quickly.

“So I have been trying to take my time a little bit more and be a bit more composed over the shot trying to hit it to the right areas,” said the 33-year-old from Warwickshire, who won the Selborne Salver by shooting at record 60 at Blackmoor GC, in 2011.

“I’ve not been super aggressive the past two days and I have holed a couple of putts to keep me in it.

“So like I said yesterday, it’s just about being patient and that is what I have been doing the past two days,” said Sullivan, who stacked shelves at Asda 10 years ago to earn money to support his amateur golf career.

“I feel like I have grown up a little bit now on the golf course. You know I think that having a laugh on the course is all well and good – and I still enjoy it.

“But for me, I have really had to knuckle down the past two days to keep myself in check because there are times when I find myself wondering.

“It has been difficult, and it is something new for me, trying to keep focused for so long. Normally I drift in and out a little bit.

“But it’s been really good and positive signs as the golf has been really good,” added Sulllivan, who also recorded three wins in a season as an amateur in 2010 – winning the Hampshire Salver, the Lagonda Trophy and the Midland Amateur Championship.

But just when it looked like Sullivan might lead the tournament heading into the weekend, Jorge Campillo went blemish free in posting his own 66 to also get into double figures and join Sullivan in top spot.

“I’ve worked on a few things over the last week and in Oman, said Jorge Campillo.

“It’s working out good and I’m putting great as well – I’ve been putting awfully lately – and it’s been a great two days.

“It’s a nice position to be in going into the weekend. Hopefully I can play like this and if I do, I’m going to have a good chance to win on Sunday.”

•Jorge Campillo is due to defend his Trophee Hassan II title at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, which he won in April last year, when the event moves to its new date in June.

Björk goes lowest at Education City

SWEDEN’S Alexander Björk carded the lowest round of the week and his European Tour career with a course record 63 to sit at nine-under.

Björk, whose maiden win came in the 2018 Volvo China Open, said: “I have been struggling a lot lately, but I have been starting to feel last week that the game was getting a bit better.

“I played quite good yesterday but did not get the putts to drop, so I don’t know.

“I just got in a really good flow from the start, hitting almost every fairway, kind of firing at the pins so it just felt really good.

“I took advantage of the really calm weather and when you feel like the swing is really there, and there is no wind, you can aim at the pins and I got a lot of good chances.

“Like I said, I have been coming off quite a tough stretch, so it was a lot of fun to actually feel the flow again, and maybe my best round tee to green since I won two years ago.

“It was fun to get that feeling again because it was a long time ago.”

Bjork is alongside countryman Marcus Kinhult, Essex’s Oliver Fisher, Frenchman Romain Langasque and Dutchman Joost Luiten, a winner in Oman two years ago.

Danish trio Nicolai Højgaard, Benjamin Poke and Jeff Winther, South African Darren Fichardt, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson and England’s Jack Senior are three shots off the lead.

Teenage senation Højgaard, who led after a superb 64 on Thursday, added a level-par 71, containing three birdies and three bogeys as he seeks to match twin brother Rasmus’ rookie win in Mauritius.

•For live scoring in round three click here.

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Martin Kaymer’s last win came six years ago at the US Open – the German feels his rediscovered consistency means the next win is not too far away. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

MARTIN Kaymer is hoping he can turn his recent consistency into a long-awaited win at the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

The German is a former European and World No. 1 with 11 European Tour wins – including two Major Championships.

But the last of those victories came nearly six years ago at the 2014 US Open Championship.

Kaymer, who lost a play-off in the 2015 Italian Open and surrendered a 10-shot lead in Abu Dhabi earlier that year, said recently he felt he had maybe been lacking focus over the last couple of years.

But after changing his trajectory to gain some length off the tee and working hard on his short game, the hero of Medinah – after holing the putt that won the 2012 Ryder Cup – has started his 2020 campaign with four consecutive top 20s.

The 35-year-old from Düsseldorf feels he is not far from ending his win drought, starting this week in the desert at Education City Golf Club, with this week’s event moving from its long-time home at Doha GC.

Kaymer, who is also happy to have Craig Connelly back on the bag after reuniting with the caddy, with whom he enjoyed his most successful spell, said: “I’ve been playing well.

“I’m working a lot on the short game, trying to get that putter in the right momentum.

“I’m very happy with the way I hit fairways, the way I hit greens, I’m playing very consistently and those top 16 finishes, it would be nice to make a couple more putts to actually have a chance to win.

“We had it already last week in Oman when it was really windy. Here it feels like it is more gusty so that will be very difficult.

“You will have some shots where you will get unlucky. It’s just a matter of accepting the good and the bad breaks and just go with it – there’s not much you can do.

“It’s always different,” Kaymer added. “In a tournament it really matters, to really understand and get to know the golf course in tournament mode – the way you play different holes.

“You’re going to play a bit more aggressive here and there,” added the German ace who has liking for the Desert Swing having won three times in four years, from 2008, at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.”

Kaymer spoke in Oman about his desire to not only win again – and get back in contention in more majors, but also his desire to play in the Olympics in Toyko – as well as earning a place in Padraig Harrington’s Ryder Cup team for Whistling Straits, where he won the 2010 USPGA.

Colsearts confident at Qatar Masters

KAYMER’S Miracle of Medinah team-mate Nicolas Colsaerts ended his seven-year winless run in the autumn at the Open de France, in October.

And after a top 20 in Oman last week, he too is feeling confident in the desert as he prepares for the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Colsaerts said: “Everything kind of falls into place. I think I’ve been playing well since my first round of the year.

“If you look at the results you always want to get a bit more out of your weeks, I probably wasn’t really efficient enough on the greens.

“I thought I had a good chance last week. I had a putt on 13 on Sunday that would have got me two shots off the lead and I was feeling pretty good.

“I went for the win for a long time and thought I had a pretty good sniff so I’m pretty happy about everything.”

•To follow live scoring in the first round of the Qatar Masters, click here.

The post Qatar Masters: Why Kaymer feels victory No. 12 is long overdue after six-year wait appeared first on Golf North.

Justin Harding, who produced five birdies on his back nine on Sunday to win last year’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which moves to Education City GC, for his defence.
Picture by GETTY IMAGES

JUSTIN Harding hopes memories of his victory in Doha last year can fuel his challenge for more success at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – which moves to a new venue this week.

The South African lifted his maiden European Tour title in dramatic fashion at last year’s event after some last day heroics saw him hold off a big chasing pack at Doha Golf Club.

Harding fired five birdies on the back nine – including at the 15th, 17th and 18th – to earn a two-shot victory from a group of nine players who tied for second.

Harding after playing a practice round recalled: “It was a pretty good day.

“I got off to a good start, lost my head a little bit on seven and eight, but looked at the leaderboard and nobody ever really seemed to be running away with it.

“There looked like a lot of guys that were there or thereabouts,” added Harding, who rose from 74th in the Official World Rankings that week to a career high of 42nd, but who is now down to 99th.

“I ended up birdieing 11 and 12, then again 15. When I parred 16 I thought that was a chance given away, but I hit a good shot and made a great putt on 17.

“And birdie on 18 was big because it meant guys had to make two coming in, added Harding, who needs a big week in his quest to move back into the world’s top 50 to secure his place in the USPGA Championship in May.

“It was a bad little 45-minute wait but nobody seemed to really post a score. I think there were nine guys tied for second so I was quite pleased to avoid a play-off.

“It was cool to have finally crossed the line and got a W. It is just a matter of trying to feed on the same sort of memories this week and see if we can defend it.

The 34-year-old won’t have the defending champion’s advantage of returning to the same course as the event moves across the Qatari capital for the first time in its 23-year history.

The action moves from Doha Golf Club to Jose Maria Olazabal’s Education City Golf Club – a landmark project for Qatar and the world of golf – which offers a “revolutionary” approach to growing the game.

Harding, who finished 12th on his Masters debut in 2019, added: “I played so many new courses last year it’s actually quite nice. You’ve almost got no bad memories, you’re playing fresh.

“It’s a nice little challenge. It means everyone is pretty much in the same boat,” said Justin Harding of the 7,307 yard, par-71 course, which features paspalum grass greens.

“It’s not like you’re playing against a bunch of guys that have a world of good memories and good things to bring out on their play.

“It’s just one of those where you’ve got to go out and play with what you have on the day and deal with what happens.

“It’s a good golf course. I’ve played nine holes and I think the wind’s going to blow. It’s going to make it challenging for scoring.

“You’ll probably find it’s not going to be 20-under par winning, it’s going to anywhere in between -12 and -15.

“I’m looking forward to going out, seeing if we can execute plans, make some birdies and see what happens.”

Justin Harding is joined in the field by former World No. 1 Martin Kaymer, the 2018 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters winner Eddie Pepperell, from Oxfordshire’s Frilford Heath, as well as last week’s Oman Open winner Sami Valimaki.

The latter picked up four wins on the German Pro Golf Tour last season – the same route Kaymer, who has won three times in Abu Dhabi during the Desert Swing since 2008, took to the European Challenge Tour in 2006.

Valimaki, who also won as an amateur on the Gecko Tour in Spain, was a 250-1 shot heading into just his sixth event last week at Oman’a Al Mouj Golf, which again attracted high praise as one of the best courses on the European Tour.

•For tee times in the first round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, click here.

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