DP World Tour : Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Leaderboard
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen shares the first-round lead with Brandon Robinson Thompson at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after recovering from an opening bogey to post a sensational 66 on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Dane has made a bright start to the new campaign following a stunning 2024 in which he won three times on the HotelPlanner Tour (old Challenge Tour) to earn automatic promotion to the DP World Tour.
And despite an early blip in windy conditions at Doha Golf Club, where he dropped a shot at the first hole after missing his 14-foot par putt, Neergaard-Petersen continued his fine recent form as he made seven birdies and no bogeys over the next 17 holes to set the early clubhouse target at -6
Englishman Robinson Thompson then caught Neergaard-Petersen at the summit late in the afternoon after draining his 60-foot birdie putt on the eighth - his penultimate hole.
Robinson Thompson, who smashed the course record as he opened with a 61 in Bahrain last week, had a chance to hold the outright first-round lead for the second week in a row but was unable to make his birdie putt from ten feet on the ninth and had to settle for a share.
Italy's Andrea Pavan and England's Sam Bairstow were in a tie for third one shot behind the the co-leaders after shooting 67s.
Frenchman Pierre Pineau and Armenia's Jean Bekirian were another shot back with two holes still to complete when play was suspended at 17:12 local time due to darkness. They will return early in the morning when round one restarts at 07:00.
He said: "I’m extremely pleased, even after the bogey at the first. To bounce back like that was huge.
"I felt really good into the greens today and was able to roll in some putts. It was a lovely day.
"I made a conscious effort this week to try and start fast. I told my caddie, Brian, going into this week that was the main goal, get off to a good start, be under par through six and take it from there."
Thompson said "Just a lot of good stuff out there today. Tricky conditions with the wind, but first and foremost the golf course is in unbelievable condition. The guys at Doha Golf Club have done such a good job. I just took advantage of opportunities that came my way.
"The first round is always important, it can get you in the tournament, you can relax and build on it. This is almost like a home game for me. I’ve been here so many times and I’m so comfortable here.
"I just love golf. Full stop. I love competing. I’m so happy to be out here on the DP World Tour. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and I’m living the dream."
edit ** Canada's Aaron Cockerill birdied the two par 5's on his front nine (1,9)but made 4 bogey's in 5 holes in between with some errant driving, out in 38. He steadied the ship coming in with 6 pars, 2 birdies and a lone bogey for 35 leaving him T73 +1 73, 7 shots off the lead heading into round 2.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
co-leaders after shooting 67s.
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