Zander Lombard continued his good form with an opening five under par round of 67 to share the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters lead with Wu Ashun at Doha Golf Club.
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The South African, who finished in a tie for second at last week’s Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies, is currently on a run of 17 events without missing a cut and looked at ease as he birdied the second, sixth and eighth holes to make the turn in 33. Two further gains at the 16th and 18th saw him draw level with China’s Wu to share a one-stroke lead after 18 holes.
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The 38-year-old Chinese, who has four DP World Tour titles to his name, made the most of his early wake-up call to roll in five birdies and held a one-shot lead for most of the day before Lombard battled the afternoon wind in an impressive display to join him at the summit.
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Lombard’s countryman Jaco Prinsloo was another who made the most of the early conditions as he posted a four under 68 in the opening group of the day to lie in a tie for third on four under par, alongside Denmark’s Niklas Nørgaard, Frenchman Clément Sordet and Australia’s Haydn Barron, who is competing in his maiden DP World Tour season after coming through Qualifying School in 2023.
Player quotes
Zander Lombard: “Just really solid. I drove it nicely and hit a lot of greens which makes it pretty easy in this breeze, I didn’t have to up-and-down much.
“I think I only missed two greens where I had to chip and the other one was just off and I putted it, so it was stress-free and a lot of lagged putts and the greens are beautiful, so slick and fast so everything looks like its rolling in at the moment.”
Ashun Wu: “It was a great day today. I hit a lot of greens, a lot of quality shots on the tees and fairways. Also made a lot of putts so to make five birdies, bogey-free, it’s a very good start.
“The wind was quiet on the front nine. My tee time was 6:20am so we got off with it today with an early tee time. The wind picked up on the back nine, so that was harder for us.”
Niklas Nørgaard: “I was very much in control all day. It felt easy today. It was quite windy out there and I like it when it’s windy. Perfect conditions for me and the game feels good.
“The 18th is a par five and I expect to make birdie there. I would have been more disappointed if I didn’t make it. I had a good week last week, bit disappointing towards the end of the tournament and I was frustrated coming in on Sunday so I used that as fuel today. It’s all about managing energy from here, because it is week five and I feel a little more tired than usual. Short day today, finish up and go home to rest.”
Clément Sordet: “It’s been great. Four under is really good on this course. It’s pretty windy and the greens are really firm so it’s tough between the fairways and the greens, but I’ve managed to do that really well today.
“It is in much better condition, the greens are really firm and are rolling really good. It’s a great golf course, I really like the layout and hopefully I will do good tomorrow.
“I’ve been struggling for a bit now and been struggling to score well, but it is always great to score four under. I know my game is really close and today was great so I’m really happy.”
