Golf, by TourMiss

American Jason Dufner is already considering returning to compete next year on the European Tour’s Middle East Swing. Dufner is targeting a top-three finish after muscling his way up the board with a 67 on day three of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. The double PGA Tour winner, and a member of last year’s losing USA Ryder Cup side, posted six birdies over his opening 11 holes and with his only bogey coming at par three, 13th. It had been the 13th on Thursday when Dufner found himself the ...

Rory McIlroy is understood to have  invested at least £100,000 into a fund backing the Hampton by Hilton hotel, which is due to open at the site of the  former West Bar police station at the end of this year.   The World No. 1 is thought to be joined in the investment by Republic of Ireland and Sunderland FC goalkeeper Keiren Westwood among others. A document for the Downing scheme, called West Bar BPRA LLP, indicates that each backer could net returns of up to 23 per cent over eight years ...

Michael Hoey awoke to second best Doha score but all he wanted to do was go back to bed on day two of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.  Hoey posted a three-under par 69 to move to five under in unusually benign conditions on  the only golf course in Doha.  It left the Belfast golfer trailing   just four shots behind the leading four of Portugal’s Ricardo Santos (70), Australia’s Marcus Fraser (67) and the Ryder Cup heavyweight duo of Martin Kaymer (67) and Sergio Garcia (66).  Among ...

Former US Open champion and Ryder Cup star, Graeme McDowell shed some of the off season cobwebs taking part earlier this week in the 4th Annual $10,000 Timacuan Scramble at the Timacuan Golf & Country Club some 15 miles north of Orlando. PGA Tour colleague, Rick Cochran and his team won the event with a 19-under-par 53 after defeating three other teams in a sudden-death playoff with a birdie on the par 3 16th. However it was McDowell who proved a big winner in his first public appearance ...

Marcus Fraser is in ‘Lethal ’ mode and looking to celebrate Australia Day this Saturday with victory in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Fraser blasted out a five under par 67 to move to a share of the clubhouse lead and again in benign conditions about the Doha Golf Club. The Australian’s opening 36-hole tally is easily the best in his six showing in the Qatari capital while his scores, including a first round 68, is only the fourth time Fraser’s broken 70 in 15 rounds on the Peter Harradine ...

Just over a week after Wayne Rooney delivered a ‘Welcome to the Nike family’ message to Rory McIlroy and the England and Manchester United striker was totally unaware the World No. 1 had missed the cut in last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Rooney was among a surprise group of Manchester United players walking the course on the opening day of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Joining Rooney were team mates, Ryan Giggs, Johnny Evans, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Brazillian ...

There was no chance of not noticing Ireland’s Damien McGrane on the opening day of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. While McGrane managed to shoot his best first round score in Doha in 10 appearances on the only golf course in the Qatar- capital, the quitely-spoken Irishman could have done with a volume control switcch. McGrane, who has only broken 70 once in first rounds in the Qatar capital was among a number of TaylorMade sponsored players wearing yellow on day one of the event. Wearing ...