DOHA: Spanish stars Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Pablo Larrazabal sampled the Qatari culture during a lesson in Arabic calligraphy at the end of the second round of Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club.
“It’s nice to try things like this. It’s fun,” said Cabrera-Bello, who has twice finished third in the tournament, including last year when he missed the playoff by one shot.
As Sergio Garcia continues a solo defence of his title with a second 69 and Alejandro Canizares featured in the top 10 yesterday, Cabrera-Bello explained why he and many other Spanish stars enjoy the $2.5m tournament, which sits at the heart of The European Tour’s desert swing.
“It’s just like back home. It’s sunshine normally, a little breezy, we play in short sleeves and I kind of like the fact that there’s sand all around,” said Cabrera-Bello, a two-time European Tour winner.
The Spaniard, who considers the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters one of his favourite, said he has always felt at home on Doha Golf Club’s Peter Harradine-designed layout.
“I think it’s a long hitter’s course. I’m not the longest hitter, but I would consider myself one of the longer hitters. I also like it because there’s a lot of wedge play if you’re driving well and my wedge play tends to be good. As well as those things, the course suits my eye. The first time I came here, I liked it and I’ve enjoyed every time I’m here.”
He was in second place after his first-round 66 and after a second-round 73, he remains four shots off the lead and is determined to again be in the mix for the final round. “I’ve been close a couple of times, had a couple of top-threes here. It’s one of my flagship events and I know I can do good here. I just want to have a good round on Friday and put myself in position for Saturday.” The Peninsula
