Doha (Qatar): Qatari amateur golfer Jeham Al Kuwari, who will tee off on Thursday at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters has come a long way on his golf journey from his baby steps on the sand golf course at Dukhan to the greens of Doha Golf club (DGC).
The 28-year-old is one of the three Qatari amateur players who will feature in the four-day $1.5m event.
Reigning Qatar Open champion Ali Al Shahrani and Saleh Al Kaabi are the other two Qataris in the fray.
Jeham is keen to prove a point or two in the competition after having made his European Tour debut two years ago.
“I lived in Dukhan and started playing as a 13-year-old at the Dukhan Golf Course which is sand course. One of the coaches asked me to come and train at DGC. Since then I have been playing there,” said Jeham.
He found success at last month’s Qatar Open Amateur Championship, where he finished third.
In fact, the competition was a great opportunity for him to prepare for the big event.
“This is my second European Tour event. I am very excited. We have practiced hard for a month before the Qatar Open. We also a ten-day closed camp before the amateur event,” said Jeham, who is employed at the Aspire Academy.
The Qatari golfer is well aware of the herculean task which awaits him. “The realistic approach for me will be to make the cut and qualify. My preparation is good. I played well at the Qatar Open. I’ve been working hard on many aspects of the game and I hope to improve my skills,” he said after a training session at the DGC on Wednesday.
Jaham will be up against some of the top names that includes four-time European Tour winner Thomas Pieters, Thomas Detry, Andy Sullivan, Wade Orsmby, Brandon Stone and Aaron Rai.