McDowell confirms Qatar return

Graeme McDowell will make his first appearance in two years at next month’s Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy.

The world No 12 will return to Doha Golf Club from February 2-5 for his sixth appearance in the $2.5 million tournament where he has enjoyed top-20 finishes in each of his last three appearances.

“I didn’t give the supporters a whole lot to shout about in 2011 but hopefully I’ll get back to my winning ways in 2012,” McDowell said after a winless 2011 campaign. “I’m really excited about this year and will start my new season on the European Tour in the Middle East.”

Set to begin his year in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in two weeks, McDowell added: “Last year was tough, no doubt about it. I learned a lot of things about myself like how to deal with being a Major champion and how to deal with being one of the top players in the world. But the last three or four months have been great and there have been a lot of positives.”

Organised by the Qatar Golf Association (QGA), the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsor The Commercial Bank of Qatar, this year’s Commercialbank Qatar Masters will see McDowell line up alongside several of the men he played with when he helped Europe defeat the USA in the 2010 Ryder Cup. And with the biennial event set to be staged again in the US in eight months time, the Ulsterman will hope to be one of European golf’s 12 players for the greatest team event in golf.

“Graeme wrote his name into golfing history with a pressure putt that won Europe the Ryder Cup in 2010,” said QGA President Hassan Al Nuaimi. “I’m sure golf fans in Qatar who missed out on seeing him twelve months ago will be out in force to give him their full support in what will be yet another big year for The European Tour.”