Strong winds playing havoc on opening day of Qatar Masters

Friday, 4 February 2011 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Strong winds played havoc on the opening day of the Qatar Masters on Thursday with the swirling desert sand reducing visibility at the Doha Golf Club.

Players in the $2.5 million event struggled to cope with the winds of up to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph), which forecasters expected to strengthen during the afternoon.

Just over a dozen of the 66 players out on the course were under par with double U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, celebrating his 42nd birthday, sharing the lead at two-under par after nine holes.

World number one Lee Westwood was one-over-par after nine while playing companion and world number seven Steve Stricker, on a first visit to the region, was struggling at four-over.

Also finding it difficult in the testing conditions was England’s Ian Poulter, who headed in to his back nine at three-over.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.