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.
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.
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.
