Qatar Masters
Doha Golf Club
Qatar
5th - 8th March 1998

Par 72 Prize Money £600,000

Second Round Report

Second Round Scores
First Round Report
First Round Scores

Sherborne is the early bird in the lead

Doha, Qatar, 6th March 1998 - England's Andrew Sherborne rose at 4.30 a.m. on Friday, went out and shot an eight-under-par 64 in perfect conditions and then challenged anyone to catch his 11-under-par 133 total for two rounds.

No-one got closer than three strokes to the 36-year-old Englishman until Switzerland's Paolo Quirici in the penultimate group in of the day.

The 30-year-old Swiss, who has yet to chalk up his first European Tour victory, posted a 66 to finish two shots behind Sherborne in second place on 135, despite getting much windier conditions in the afternoon than the morning starters enjoyed.

While Sherborne had collected an eagle and six birdies in calm conditions, Quirici's eight birdies to put him one ahead of overnight leader Anders Forsbrand (69) and Patrik Sjoland (66) were carved out in high winds.

Sweden's Sjoland also had to combat the wind as did American Jay Townsend (69) who moved up alongside one of the tournament favourites Ian Woosnam of Wales (65) in fifth place on 137.

Last week's winner Jose Maria Olazabal shot 69 to lie on 140, with fellow Spaniard Severiano Ballesteros on 142, easily making the level-par cut-off mark.

Sherborne, who kept out Nick Faldo in 1992 to win the Spanish Open, continued a run of good form this year.

The Englishman won an early-year warm-up against fellow European Tour players in Tobago in January and is optimistic he can find the touch which also won him the 1991 Madrid Open.

"I slipped to 104th on the order of merit last year," said Sherborne. "It was the pits of a year and my worst in 10 years of serious tour golf, a far cry from 1992 when I suppose I was at my best to beat Faldo.

"I'd like to think I can get back to that kind of form, in fact I think I'm close to it now.

Quirici was just one stroke off his career-best 65 in 1989 when he had his best result on tour, fourth in Crans sur Sierre in Switzerland for the European Masters after giving winner Ballesteros a good run for his money.

"My form is good enough at the moment to better my previous best finish," said Quirici. "I always feel I can win when I tee up anyway.

"Today I had the worst of the conditions by being late out and the wind made things very difficult within only two or three holes of starting.

"But I changed my putter and my caddie after last week in Dubai and those two things proved to be key elements in me making my challenge today."