Staff WriterOn a blustery first day at the Qatar Masters, Patrick Reed and Daniel Hillier turned Doha Golf Club into their own personal playground, carding matching 65s to share the lead and leave the rest of the field squinting into the wind and the leaderboard.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion and current pace-setter on the International Swing rankings, carried his Middle East heater straight across the Gulf. Fresh off a Rolex Series win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and a runner-up at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, the American marched to seven under par and set the early clubhouse target before Hillier swooped in late with an eagle-fuelled finale to join him.
Reed rides the wind – and his form
Starting on the tenth, Reed opened like a man who’d been told there were only three birdies left in the world and he’d better get to them first. He went birdie-birdie-birdie out of the gate, then tossed in a bogey and another birdie for good measure. His first par didn’t arrive until the 15th – his sixth hole of the day – and there were only two pars on an outward nine of 31, thanks to further gains at the 16th and 17th.
On the front side, he kept the pedal down with birdies at the first, fourth and seventh, only surrendering ground with a dropped shot at the par-three eighth. It all added up to a swaggering 65 that kept his Middle East stat sheet looking like a video game.
Afterwards, Reed sounded as comfortable in the breeze as a local dhow skipper.
Patrick Reed: It felt solid. It’s kind of windy this morning when we got up, it forced me to kind of get in rhythm and take the day on, just trying to trust what the wind was doing in my golf swing.
It was nice, I hit the ball pretty well, especially early in the round, a lot of my birdies were just kind of kick-ins which is always nice, not having to think too much around there.
It was a solid start, I would have liked to capitalise on the par-fives a little bit more, and really the par-threes, even though I had a birdie, two of them are bogeys and all the bogeys came on par-threes so just tighten that up a little bit and really just get ready to go.
The golf course, especially when it’s windy like this, it requires a lot of shot-making – you have to work the ball both ways, or flight things down, or take it up in the air.
That’s the kind of golf I like, I like to get creative when I’m out there and really dive into the golf shot, and a golf course like this with a lot of doglegs and cross-winds, it allows you to do that. It’s just one of these places that kind of suits my eye.
We’re definitely enjoying it a lot right now. The game feels solid, I feel like a lot of the work we’ve done in the off-season has really stuck and it’s gone pretty well.
At this point we’re just riding the confidence, allowing ourselves to go out there and just play a little bit aggressive, attack the golf course and worst-case scenario allow my short game to bail me out.
If that sounds like a man who fancies both the golf course and his chances, that’s because he does. Reed’s blend of creativity, control and “worst-case scenario” confidence is a nasty combination for anyone trying to take the Qatar Masters trophy out of his hands.
Hillier’s closing thunderbolt
Just when Reed looked set to enjoy a lonely evening on top of the board, Daniel Hillier arrived with a late flourish that would’ve made a magician blush. The New Zealander, already fifth on the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World after four top-six finishes in five starts, including second at the Dubai Invitational and a tie for fourth in Bahrain, matched Reed’s 65 with an eagle on his final hole.
Hillier also started from the tenth and announced himself with back-to-back birdies, turning in 33 after another at the 16th. On his inward nine he picked up three birdies in four holes from the third, stumbled with his only bogey of the day at the eighth, then promptly erased the annoyance with that closing eagle.
The man from the land of long white clouds sounded pretty sunny about the whole thing.
Daniel Hillier: I’m feeling pretty good out there. I’m just trying to more often than not to stay patient out there and take the chances when I get them.
My game’s feeling really good so I’m just trying to ride the wave, I guess. We did a lot of work in the last year with the Titleist boys, just playing around with some different settings – particularly with the driver, I’ve never driven it bad but I was always fighting a right ball and I think we finally got that sorted. Just being able to commit to that a bit more and feeling like I can put a similar swing throughout the bag, rather than get to driver and feel like I’m having to release the heck out of it to keep it on line.
So that’s definitely helped I think, keep that same swing on the golf ball throughout the bag is pretty key, and then try not to put too much pressure on myself as well.
I think actually just giving myself a good bit of time off over the break, I think when my head’s in a good spot that’s when I play my best golf and I’ve learnt that sometimes less is more. I’ve just been enjoying the summer break back home and came out refreshed and ready to go, and excited to compete again.
That (eagle at the last) was nice. I was a little frustrated with a soft bogey there on 17 but nice to get a couple back at the end.
Refreshed, retooled and now sharing the lead at the Qatar Masters – you’d say the “less is more” strategy is working out just fine.
Scandinavian charge keeps leaders honest
Behind the leading pair, a strong Scandinavian contingent is lurking like a cold front. Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult, Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen and Finland’s Oliver Lindell all signed for six-under rounds to form a Nordic wall at 66.
They were later joined by Spain’s Angel Ayora and Italy’s Gregorio De Leo, who flirted with a share of the lead before a closing bogey at the ninth halted him at six under. That will sting, but on a wind-ruffled day in Doha, 66 still leaves him in prime position heading into Friday.
Another Swede, Joakim Lagergren, is just one back of that group at five under, alongside New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori. It’s early, but if you’re looking for a theme behind Reed and Hillier, “comfortable in the wind” and “used to bad weather” seems a decent place to start.
Harrington’s 500th: a landmark day in Doha
While Reed and Hillier were making most of the noise on the scoreboard, Pádraig Harrington quietly hit a number that might mean even more in the long view. The Irishman chose the Qatar Masters as the stage for his 500th start on the DP World Tour, becoming just the 50th player in Tour history to reach that mark – more than three decades after debuting at the 1995 Smurfit European Open.
Harrington’s CV has been fattened over the years with 43 professional titles, including 15 on the DP World Tour, and six Ryder Cup appearances for Europe. In recent seasons he’s turned into a winning machine on the over-50s circuit, racking up 11 victories on PGA TOUR Champions and currently holding both the U.S. Senior Open and ISPS HANDA Senior Open titles.
On a leaderboard full of rising stars and in-form winners, his presence is a reminder that careers – and tournaments like the Qatar Masters – are marathons, not sprints.
Darkness falls, drama delayed
As the sun went down over Doha Golf Club, the opening day still wasn’t finished. Play was suspended due to darkness at 5:27 pm, leaving 12 players stranded mid-round and due back at 7 am local time on Friday to complete their first lap.
For Reed and Hillier, that means a sleepless night isn’t strictly necessary, but it wouldn’t be surprising if one or two of the chasers who still have holes to play wake up feeling they’ve got unfinished business with this golf course.
Either way, with co-leaders at seven under, a Scandinavian cavalry at their heels, Harrington savouring start number 500, and the wind forecast to remain part of the story, the Qatar Masters is already shaping up like the sort of week where creativity, patience and a sturdy sense of humour will go a long way – which, funnily enough, sounds a lot like Patrick Reed and Daniel Hillier on day one.
