European Number One and World Number Three Martin Kaymer has confirmed he will join a world-class field when Doha Golf Club stages the 14th Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy from February 3-6.
The German will be making his fourth appearance in Qatar and will have his eye on a third Middle East title following victories in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in 2008 and 2010.
The 26 year old, who has stormed to the top of the world game since turning professional in 2005, will be keen to master a course that continues to provide a major challenge.
“Martin is arguably the greatest young talent in the world today and we look forward to congratulating him on becoming the new European Number One,” said Hassan Al Nuami, President of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA), organisers of the tournament in association with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsors Commercialbank.
“But while he has always done well in Abu Dhabi and Dubai where he has not finished outside of the top four on his last six visits, in Qatar he has yet to finish higher than 31st which once again emphasises the unique challenge of Doha Golf Club, a course we believe to be the toughest on the Desert Swing.”
Kaymer came into last year’s Commercialbank Qatar Masters fresh from victory in the UAE capital and went on to finish in 32nd place, well behind eventual winner Robert Karlsson.
However, Kaymer, who spends most of the winter in Arizona,will start as one of the tournament favourites after a magnificent 2010 season, when he won the coveted Race to Dubai and played a key role in Europe's victory over the United States in The Ryder Cup.
His second win in three years in Abu Dhabi propelled him to sixth in the world and sparked a run which yielded top ten finishes in the Masters Tournament and the US Open before he landed the first Major of his career by winning the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
It was a remarkable purple patch for Kaymer who followed his US PGA win with victories at the KLM Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to take his title haul for the year to four.
“It was a fantastic year,” said Kaymer. “All the goals I set for myself, for my career, everything happened in one year. To win The Race to Dubai, be European Number One, to play The Ryder Cup and to win a Major.
“What would I like for 2011? I’d like to prove that I'm Europe's Number One, take that challenge on again and win The Race to Dubai. It would be nice to win a Major again, preferably The Open, our only Major that we have in Europe. And I have never made a hole-in-one in my life."
After such a fine season, Commercialbank Group CEO Andrew Stevens believes Kaymer can make an impression in Doha next month. “Martin’s record speaks for itself and I am sure he will be one of the main challengers in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters alongside our defending champion Robert Karlsson and World Number One Lee Westwood,” he said.
