Nicolai Hojgaard tees off during the opening day of the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at the Education City Golf Club, yesterday. Pictures: Syed Omar
Danish teenager Nicolai Hojgaard produced a remarkable run of scoring on the back nine to take a one-shot lead at the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in Doha yesterday.
On the first day of the European Tour event, the 18-year-old, runner-up behind Sergio Garcia at the KLM Open last season, started with a seven-under 64 to hit the front at Education City Golf Club.
Hojgaard hit the turn in 35, then birdied seven of the next eight holes before a second bogey of a stunning opening round ensured he had to settle for the slenderest of advantage.
“It was a good day,” said Højgaard.
“I started out slow, was playing really bad on the first four, five, six holes - I was still two under at that point but I was just playing it all over the place. My putter was just on fire today, that’s the difference.
“When I came to the back nine I was hitting fairways, hitting it close and rolling the putter. You just hit the button and you keep going. I was hitting the fairway, I was hitting greens, I was getting close on the par fives.
“My putter was just the difference today. I was playing okay with the long game but I was just holing everything.
“The back nine is a bit more tricky off the tee so I would say it was more of a three wood on the back nine, I was hitting a lot of three woods and it was pretty good.”
Dutchman Joost Luiten was a shot back, one ahead of Spaniards Jorge Campillo and Carlos Pigem, Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli, Belgian Thomas Pieters, England’s Andy Sullivan and Dane Jeff Winther.
“I am absolutely pleased. Seven birdies and one dropped shot, it wasn’t really needed that dropped shot coming out of the middle of the fairway but on a golf course like this where it is really tricky on and around the greens, I was out of position, so sometimes you just have to accept the bogey. All in all, I am happy with my game,” Luiten said.
“Yesterday and Tuesday were really bad (winds) so I didn’t do a lot of practise because you can ask yourself if it really helps if you hit into a 50 mile and hour wind on the range. So I tried to stay away from it and played the course, get to know it a bit better and it was beautiful today,” he added.
“I think on the golf course if you are in the fairway you can be pretty aggressive to the undulated greens. I hit my irons and driver beautiful today which created a lot of chances and I rolled in a couple of putts,” Luiten said.
England’s Marcus Armitage made the first big move of the day, birdieing the second and third and then reeling off a hat-trick from the fifth to get to five under.
Armitage, India’s S S P Chawrasia, Scottish pair David Drysdale and Scott Jamieson, South African Darren Fichardt, Frenchman Benjamin Hebert and South Korea’s Kyongjun Moon were three off the lead.
