• Ernie Els of South Africa, the 2005 champion, holds the record for the most European Tour titles won in the Gulf. To date he has claimed four victories – the Dubai Desert Classic in 1994, 2002 and 2005 and The Commericalbank Qatar Masters in 2005.
• Defending champion, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson made history in 2006 by becoming the first wire-to-wire winner of the event and was the first of five on The 2006 European Tour International Schedule. They others were: Mardam Mamat (OSIM Singapore Masters), Markus Brier (BA-CA Golf Open, presented by Telekom Austria), Tiger Woods (World Golf Championships – American Express Championship) and Niclas Fasth (Mallorca Classic). Stenson is no stranger to leading from the front, having won his first European Tour event, the 2001 Benson and Hedges International Open, in his rookie season when leading after every round. Indeed, he is the last first year player to achieve this feat. In the last two years, Stenson is a total of 26 under par for his last eight rounds over the Doha layout, having finished second in 2005, coupled with his success 12 months ago.
• The 2005 US Open Champion Michael Campbell, is making his debut in The Commericalbank Qatar Masters and will try to become the fourth player to win the event on their first appearance, following Andrew Coltart (1998), Adam Scott (2002) and Ernie Els (2005).
• The Commericalbank Qatar Masters holds the European Tour record for the fewest number of shots between the halfway leaders and the cut mark – just five in 2004. The 36 leaders were on 138 (-6), whilst the cut fell at 143 (-1).
