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DiMarco to make his debut in Qatar

Following hot on the spikes of fellow golfing superstars Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Sergio Garcia, American Ryder Cup star Chris DiMarco is the latest big name to sign up for the 2007 Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

DiMarco’s appearance at the Doha Golf Club from January 25-28 will be his first visit to Qatar and underlines the pulling power of the $2.2 million tournament, sanctioned by both the PGA European Tour and Asian Tour.

Last season, DiMarco made his Middle East debut at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the UAE where he won by one stroke from current Commercialbank Qatar Masters champion Henrik Stenson. The likeable American will be looking to maintain that Gulf winning streak over the 7,374-yard Doha course.

“I think all golf fans in Qatar will be really looking forward to being at the Doha Golf Club at the end of January,” said a delighted Andrew Stevens, Group CEO of title sponsors Commercialbank of Qatar.

“Not only are we offering the richest prize fund in the history of the tournament, we have confirmed entries from Chris DiMarco, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood – and we still have even more big names to announce.”

That 2006 win in Abu Dhabi was the first tour title in four years for DiMarco, although he went close in 2005 when he finished a career-best seventh on the PGA TOUR money list, earning a career-high $3,562,548 and qualifying for his sixth consecutive PGA TOUR Championship.

It was also a year when he holed the winning putt at the Presidents Cup, made only the second hole-in-one in the event’s history, finished runner-up to David Toms at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and lost in a play-off to Tiger Woods in the Masters. He also lost out in a play-off in the 2004 US PGA.

“Chris DiMarco is one of the most respected and experienced players on the PGA Tour and I am delighted he has agreed to make his first visit to the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in 2007,” said Qatar Golf Association President Hassan Al Nuami.

Tournament Manager Chris Myers also firmly believes the field for the Masters is the strongest yet. “We’re now seeing the leading lights of the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Asian Tour heading for Doha,” he said. “This is a massive vote of confidence not only for the event but also for Qatar in general.”

December 28, 2006