GOLF – PATRICK Reed and Daniel Hillier shared a one-stroke lead after day one of the Qatar Masters yesterday with rounds of 65 at Doha Golf Club.
Reed, the Masters champion from 2018, sits in pole position on the International Swing rankings after winning a maiden Rolex Series title at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic before following it up with a tied-runner-up finish at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship last week, and he continued his rich vein of form in Qatar as he moved to seven-under-par to set the initial clubhouse target.
The American, starting from the 10th, made the perfect start with three consecutive birdies. A bogey and another birdie meant his first par did not come until his sixth hole, the 15th, and he had only two in an outward nine of 31 thanks to further gains at the 16th and 17th. He birdied the first, fourth, and seventh before dropping a shot at the par-three eighth hole.
He was later joined by New Zealand’s Hillier, who made a stunning eagle on his final hole to share the lead at seven-under. Hillier occupies fifth position on the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World after four top-six finishes in his five events so far, including second place at the Dubai Invitational and a tie for fourth in Bahrain.
Hillier also started from the tenth with a pair of birdies, with another at the 16th taking him out in 33. He picked up another three in four holes from the third and after his only bogey of the day at the eighth, a closing eagle provided the perfect finish to his round.
“It felt solid,” said Reed. “It was kind of windy this morning when we got up, it forced me to kind of get in rhythm and take the day on, just trying to trust what the wind was doing in my golf swing.
Commented Hillier: “I’m feeling pretty good out there. I’m just trying to more often than not to stay patient out there and take the chances when I get them.
“That [eagle at the last] was nice. I was a little frustrated with a soft bogey there on 17 but nice to get a couple back at the end.”
There was a strong Scandinavian presence in the chasing pack, with Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult, Dane Jacob Skov Olesen, and Finland’s Oliver Lindell all at six-under.
They were joined late in the day by Spain’s Angel Ayora and Italy’s Gregorio De Leo, the latter ending his round with a bogey at the ninth hole to deny him a share of the lead.
Another Swede, Joakim Lagergren, was five under alongside New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori.
Padraig Harrington reached a major career milestone at the Qatar Masters, making his 500th start on the DP World Tour – becoming just the 50th player in Tour history to achieve the feat more than 30 years after making his debut at the 1995 Smurfit European Open.
Harrington has won 43 professional titles in his illustrious career – 15 of which have come on the DP World Tour – and he has represented Europe six times in the Ryder Cup.
“I would say enjoying it is the only way I can do it now,” said Harrington. “I think as a younger man I worked hard, I’d grind, I dug in, hit lots of balls, did all the things you’re supposed to do as a young man, but I can’t keep that pace up.”
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