American golfers John Catlin and Johannes Veerman were welcomed to the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters by United States Ambassador Greta Holtz, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Doha, as part of the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture celebrations.
Ambassador Holtz hosted a press conference with her compatriots for local journalists in Qatar, speaking of the importance of the link between the two nations in 2021 and beyond.
“This Year of Culture celebrates the long-standing relationship between our countries and highlights the rich diversity of our peoples and cultures,” said Ambassador Holtz, citing recent exchanges between U.S. and Qatari sports and music groups. “Thank you to John and Johannes for building bridges of cultural understanding and inspiring future golfers and athletes.”
Catlin, who won twice on the European Tour in 2020, is making his debut at the Qatar Masters. “It’s been great so far here. I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Catlin. “I received a great welcome by airport staff, and the views from the hotels are fantastic. This golf course is in immaculate shape. “We are fortunate in being able to travel the world, see new cultures, and I get to bring my part of the past with me. It’s been a very cool experience and something I look to continue to do as I hopefully move up the ranks of being a professional golfer,” he added.
Veerman has made his second trip to Qatar, having first played this event in 2020. The 28-year-old is an alumnus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M is one of six American universities with a satellite campus in Doha’s Education City.
“The starter at the tournament was a professor at one of the universities here, and she took me into Education City. I got to see the campus and got to meet the Dean of Texas A&M University. We have so many traditions at A&M. One, for example, is when you say hello, you say ‘howdy.’ I got to the building and “howdy” was written on top of the door, but in Arabic. I sent it to all my friends, and they got a big kick out of it. It was nice to see that they have taken the traditions from Texas and given them a Qatari flair. That made it very special and unique.”
Veerman added: “Everyone is proud of where they came from and of their home country, John and I are no exception. It’s an honour to have the U.S. flag by our names.”
For more information on the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture, click here.
