Stenson shines as others struggle

Henrik Stenson, one of the growing band of European tour golfers who have decided to base themselves in the Middle East, leads the Qatar Masters in Doha with a round to go.

While nobody else could score better than 69 – and another Swede, Fredrik Andersson, slumped to a nightmare 88 – Stenson grabbed five back-nine birdies for a superb 66 and 10-under-par total of 206.

Having been five behind Richard Green at halfway, the 28-year-old will start the closing 18 holes two ahead of the Australian left-hander, who could do no better than 73, and former Ryder Cup player Niclas Fasth.

Pre-tournament favourite Ernie Els, the only player in the world’s top 50 taking part, moved up from 24th to joint 10th spot with a 69, but still has five strokes to make up.

“I think it’s almost impossible to go very low here,” said the world number three pessimistically. “I’ll try and play a really good round, but it’s very difficult – especially the way they are setting it up.”

After turning in 35 Stenson had no trouble with the tucked flagsticks and fierce rough, however.

A birdie on the long 10th was followed by a pitch to 12 feet at the next and he then hit his approach to within inches of the hole on the 12th.

His drive to the 306-yard 16th hit the giant limestone rock in front of the green, but he was left with a fairly simple chip and, after getting down in two, he rolled in a putt of nearly 30 feet on the following green.

Stenson has moved to Dubai, an hour’s flight from Doha, for a number of reasons.

“It’s fabulous weather in the winter, the facilities are great, my coach Pete Cowen has an academy and because we’ve got more and more tournaments in Asia it’s less flight time,” he said.

The former amateur international won the Benson and Hedges International at The Belfry in 2001, his first full season on the circuit, but then slumped to 176th on the Order of Merit a year later.

“I don’t really want to remember it – I’d rather look forward,” he commented. “I struggled with my swing and my mental game, but I came out of it.”

Last September he added The Heritage title at Woburn but, but the 28-year-old still remembers his previous slump.

“At times I wondered what I was doing out here. Some stay to fight the battle and some give up. I’m glad I stayed,” he added.

His compatriot Andersson could easily have given up today after a horror front nine of 45. Another triple bogey and two more doubles quickly followed, but the light at the end of the tunnel came when he birdied the 16th and 17th.

The trauma was not quite over as he finished with a bogey six and while it was a good sign that he was able to smile afterwards, what was not so good was being unable to blame it on injury, ill-health or breaking a club.

“I just played really bad,” he commented. “I’m working a bit on my swing, but when it doesn’t work it makes it even worse.

“After triple-bogeying the third I let it go and after a while just didn’t bother. You just want to get it over with.”

On 16 over par he is last by 10 stroke and, of course, has one more round to play.

Fasth has already had a victory in New Zealand this year and a 69 kept alive his hopes of another.

His fellow countryman Pierre Fulke lies joint fourth with England’s 44-year-old Barry Lane, whose win in the British Masters last May was his first for 10 years.

Once again there was only a small crowd, but it did include one famous face - former Chelsea and France footballer Frank Leboeuf, who now plays for Qatar side Al-Sadd.

He failed to bring Raphael Jacquelin and Gregory Havret any luck. Playing together they shot 73 and 72 respectively after starting out joint fifth.