At the stroke of 6.45am, Spain's Alvaro Velasco (below) hit the opening shot of the 2009 Commercialbank Qatar Masters, presented by Dolphin Energy as play got underway in the $2.5 million tournament featuring the best field ever seen in a Middle East event.

Playig alongside English pair Miles Tunnicliff and Mark Foster, Velasco drove down the first fairway as the 7,388-yard Doha Golf Club basked in the early mornng sunshine. A further 117 players will take to the course today (Jan 22) including world number two Sergio Garcia, defending champion Adam Scott and former winners Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Henrik Stenson.