2019 Qatar Masters leaderboard.
The Details
Venue: Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar
Date: March 7-10, 2019
Par: Par 72
Yardage: 7,400 yards
Course summary: The Peter Harradine design has light rough that favours the big hitters if they can avoid the eight artificial lakes that are in play on six of the holes including the 18th. All the par threes are tough and the wind usually plays a factor at the exposed desert links as it picks up towards the afternoon.
Purse: $1.75m
Defending champion: Eddie Pepperell
Weather forecast: As expected, the weather is due to be warm and windy in the Qatar desert. The opening day and Saturday are due to be warm and cloudy while the sun will come out for Friday and the final day on Sunday.
2019 Qatar Masters leaderboard
What happened at the Qatar Masters?
Justin Harding has been one of the most consistent players on tour this season and has proved that the desert conditions suit his game.
A stunning final round of 66 saw him get over the line and move ahead of a whole host of players bunched on 11-under-par.
Qatar Masters Final Leaderboard
The South African carded a bogey-free back-nine which included five birdies to put the pressure on those still out on the course.
Having signed for his card, Harding was in for an agonising wait to see if he would finish the week on top.
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He said: “I said the first guy in might have a good chance and we’ll see what happens. Once Choi posted 11-under it was a case of getting to that and potentially beating it.
“So, we’ll see what happens, it’s going to be an interesting 45 minutes.”
The likes of George Coetzee, Jorge Campillo and Nacho Elvira all gave it their best but weren’t able to reel in the leader.
Jinho Choi had set the clubhouse lead at that score after shooting the low-round of the day with a 64, but that proved to be just too little too late.
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England’s Oliver Wilson held a one-shot lead going into the final day but was unable to get anything going on Sunday and finished on 11-under, one better than where he began.
The win for Justin Harding has been coming for some time now and it’s brilliant to see yet another first-time winner on the European Tour.
Click here to read the rest of Joe Hughes’ report from the 2019 Qatar Masters.
Click here for the full list of European Tour results.
