By IANS
Doha (Qatar) : South Africa’s Retief Goosen has confirmed he will defend the Commercialbank Qatar Masters title he won in February 2007.
No one in the ten-year history of the tournament has managed to win it twice but Goosen will be out to rewrite history as dramatically as he won the crown earlier this year.
Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott have already confirmed their participation and the event organisers and title sponsors will announce more stars names before entries to the tournament close in January.
The three Indians lining up in the star-studded field will be Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur.
‘The Goose’ won the 2007 event with a stunning birdie-eagle finish on the final two holes to snatch the title from Australian Nick O’Hern courtesy of a snaking 35-foot eagle putt that saw him finish on fifteen under-par (273).
Goosen’s first visit to the 7,374-yard course saw him become the third South African to lift one of the most prestigious titles on the PGA European Tour’s overseas calendar.
After securing the 14th European Tour title of his career, Goosen went on to finish fourth in the Johnnie Walker Classic and was joint runner-up just two shots behind winner Zach Johnson at the Masters in Augusta.
This season, the two-time Majors winner has notched up two top twenty finishes and heads for Doha determined to stage a serious defence of his title in the face of a star-studded field that will include the likes of Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott.
Goosen is the latest golfing giant to commit to the Commercialbank Qatar Masters – scheduled to take place from January 24-27 – and is one of three back-to-back European PGA Tour events staged in the Middle East next month.