Tournament: Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Race to Dubai: Tournament 9 of 42
International Swing: Tournament 4 of 7
Venue: Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar
Prize Fund: $2,500,000
Hashtag: #CBQMasters #DPWT
Tournament Preview
Laurie Canter hopes to carry the momentum from his recent victory in Bahrain to this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as the DP World Tour returns to Doha Golf Club.
The Englishman became a two-time DP World Tour winner with his play-off success last weekend, defeating countryman Dan Brown and Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal on the first extra hole.
That result continued a strong run of form at the start of 2025 after being an integral part of Great Britain & Ireland’s Team Cup victory in Abu Dhabi and then finishing in a share of third at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He has also moved to a career-high 51st on the Official World Golf Ranking with hopes of making a debut appearance at the Masters Tournament in April.
Also in the field this week is 2021 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters champion Antoine Rozner who returns to Doha a couple of weeks removed from making his first starts as a dual member on the PGA TOUR, including making the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.
The Frenchman also competed at the Team Cup, representing Continental Europe, and recorded three top six finishes at the end of the 2024 Race to Dubai.
Rozner is one of eight former winners competing this week, joined in the field by Ewen Ferguson, Jorge Campillo, Justin Harding, Eddie Pepperell, Chris Wood, Alvaro Quiros and Darren Fichardt.
South Africa’s Ryan van Velzen is making his first start in this event and is playing a full schedule on the DP World Tour in 2025, earning his card by winning the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 2024. The 23-year-old has made five cuts from his first seven starts of the season, including a runner-up finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December.
Player Quotes
Laurie Canter: The last time I was here was in 2022 and the condition of the golf course this week is incredible. They’ve done an amazing job. It feels like they’ve remodelled some of the holes and they’ve obviously done some really good work on the greens over the years. It’s in phenomenal shape. This is about as good as we will play. There’s no excuses for us as players. It’s really enjoyable to play, it’s really fair. From that perspective you just need to put together four good days of play and the golf course gives you that opportunity.
I wouldn’t say (the win) takes off pressure; you can reset your goals and what you want to do. I’m really motivated to get up the world rankings. I’d love to play at Augusta, THE PLAYERS Championship, some of the other Majors all with the goal of trying to get my PGA TOUR card for next year. That’s such a nice goal to have. I’ve had a big stride there with third in Dubai and the win last week, but there’s a lot of work to do to secure one of those spots and hopefully get myself in the Masters in April.
Antoine Rozner: It’s always a good time to come back to Qatar, a place where I have good memories so I’m happy to be back here.
I was maybe hoping to play on the PGA TOUR this week but I was still on the reserve list. On Monday morning I woke up and looked at the entries and I was still third reserve so I thought ‘let’s go to Qatar’. It’s a great environment, it’s perfect golf conditions, the course is in great shape. I don’t think we’ve had the course in such good shape in the past. I’m really pleased to be back here and I think it will also be good preparation for me going forward.
It’s been a good time (so far), it’s a place that I know, I feel comfortable here so it can only help my game for the next few months.
It’s going to be very wind dependent. If the wind stays calm we can expect some low scores but normally here the wind gets up during the week so we’ll see how it goes.
Ryan van Velzen: I’m really looking forward to this week. The course is amazing, it’s a great golf course this week, and the weather is good. It’s not too hot, so it’s going to be a good week.
It’s been very cool. The Middle East has been good. Good weather, good people, good food. I’ve enjoyed it so for and I’m looking forward to what the rest of the year has to hold for me.
I played the back nine on Monday and the front nine on Tuesday. The course is great, it really suits me so I’m looking forward to this week. Straight off the tee, it’s nice and open so I can hit it hard. The greens are great and roll really true. If I can hole a few putts, I’m pretty sure I’ll have a good week.
It’s my first year out. I’m used to playing a lot of golf, so I’m going to try and play as many events as I can. I’m the kind of golfer who plays himself into form. I’m going to try a full schedule out here and see what I can do.
