Ahlawat gaining in confidence on DP World Tour, set for Qatar with Sharma

author-image
NewsDrum Desk
New Update

Doha, Feb 5 (PTI) India's Veer Ahlawat on Wednesday said he is finding his feet on the DP World Tour as he got ready to play for the fourth week in a row at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2025 here.

The other Indian in the field is the more experienced Shubhankar Sharma.

Ahlawat, who started the year at Hero Dubai Desert Classic but missed the cut, has since figured in the weekend rounds of the Ras Al Khaimah Championships and the Bapco Bahrain Championships. He was T-27 in Ras Al Khaimah and T-49 in Bahrain.

Saying he is improving and gathering experience with each round, Ahlawat is focussed on making the best use of the opportunity he has got on the DPWT, where he reached by topping the Indian PGTI Tour.

The two Tours have an alliance by which the OOM (Order of Merit) winner in India gets a card to DPWT.

The previous two players who came to DPWT via this route were Manu Gandas and Om Prakash Chouhan, but they failed to retain the card.

"I want to play as much as I can and ensure I am back," said Ahlawat, who played a lot of golf with Sharma, who has been on the DPWT Tour since 2018.

An interesting feature is the consistency Ahlawat is trying to get into his game. After missing the cut in Dubai, six of his last eight rounds have been under par and the two times he went over, he shot 1-over 73.

"I am learning each day," said Ahlawat, who trains at the DLF Golf Academy and plays at DLF Golf and Country Club, where he finished T-2 at the 2024 Hero Indian Open.

Ahlawat plays his first round with China's Jin Zihao, with whom the Indian played the last two rounds in Bahrain. Since they will be together in the second round, too, that will make it four in a row.

The third player in the group is England's Calum Fitzgerald and they tee off in the morning at 7.25 am from the first.

Sharma's start to 2025 has been disappointing having missed the cut in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. He returns to Qatar after having missed the cut in 2024. In his five previous starts in Qatar he has made the cut only twice with T-28 in 2021 as his best.

The field includes former champions Ewen Ferguson (2022), Antoine Rozner (2021), Jorge Campillo (2020), Justin Harding (2019), Eddie Pepperell 2018), Chris Wood (2013), Alvaro Quiros (2009) and Darren Fichardt (2003).

Last week's winner Laurie Canter is in the field after overhauling Tyrrell Hatton in the International Swing Rankings, with Daniel Hillier, Alejandro del Rey, Marcus Armitage, Dan Brown and Pablo Larrazábal all able to claim the top spot this week. PTI Cor AH AH