Jorge Campillo is ready to tread new ground this week as he defends a European Tour title for the first time in his career at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The Spaniard recorded his second European Tour win when he defeated Scotland’s David Drysdale in a thrilling five-hole play-off at Education City Golf Club last season - holing three putts from more than 20 feet on the extra holes.
The 34-year-old was unable to defend the Trophée Hassan II trophy he won in 2019 after the tournament was cancelled last year due to the global coronavirus pandemic, with the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters proving to be the final European Tour event before the enforced hiatus.
“It’s different (being defending champion), I’ve never been in this position before because the other tournament I won (Trophée Hassan II) I couldn’t defend it. It’s new for me. I have had most of the attention this week, but I’m fine with it. It’s nice to be the defending champion.
“I’ve had a long time to think about the win. I was playing good and was ready to go to India to try and win another golf tournament, but that was stopped because of the pandemic. It was hard to come back after the break.
“The play-off stands out the most. It was such a great play-off. Besides all the putts I made, I hit some good shots too. David played great and I was glad I made those putts to keep up in the play-off.”
Former champions Darren Fichardt, Justin Harding and Eddie Pepperell are also teeing it up in Doha this week, as are 2016 Ryder Cup players Thomas Pieters and Andy Sullivan.
Both Pieters and Sullivan have made encouraging starts to the 2021 Race to Dubai, with Sullivan finishing in a share of 25th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first Rolex Series event of the year, while Pieters finished tenth at the Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers. The Belgian has also missed just two cuts in his last 28 European Tour starts.
Rising star Rasmus Højgaard is keen to build on his strong start to the 2021 season at this year’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, after encouraging performances during the Desert Swing.
The Dane finished in a share of 25th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first event of the year, and backed that up with a tied-ninth finish at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and finished sixth at the Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers.
After missing the cut at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, the 19-year-old, who won twice during his rookie season last year, hopes to bounce back at Education City Golf Club this week.
“I struggled at the WGC at The Concession, I think I got caught up in thinking about the result there. It’s a big event, you want to play well. I was thinking more about that instead of producing good golf shots. That will be my focus this week. I want to win as much as possible, but it’s more important that I keep improving my game and that should produce good results and more wins, I hope.
“It feels good to be back in Qatar, it’s a good course and I enjoyed playing it last year.”
