Qatar Masters: Eddie Pepperell holds off Oliver Fisher for first European Tour win

Final leaderboard

-18 Eddie Pepperell

-17 Oliver Fisher

-16 Marcus Kinhult

-15 Gregory Havret, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Pablo Larrazabal, Renato Paratore

Day four report

English duo Eddie Pepperell and Oliver Fisher played out a dramatic conclusion to the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as the former secured his first European Tour victory.

Pepperell took control of the tournament with two birdies around the turn, having played solidly to that point as Fisher gave away three shots in the opening six holes to drop into the chasing pack.

For the second day running, Pepperell enjoyed a lucky escape at the 12th hole as his approach shot rebounded off rocks and into a position from which he was able to escape with par, but another mistake at the par-four 15th hole did go punished as he dropped his first shot of the day.

By this time, Fisher had rallied with three birdies in five from the turn to go with a further dropped shot and was within two of Pepperell when the pair exchanged birdies at 16, before a gorgeous approach to the par-three 17th from Fisher helped reduce the deficit to one.

Fisher then fired a perfect drive down the par-five 18th hole as Pepperell made a meal of his lay-up, ultimately leaving a 25-foot birdie putt for the tournament which came up just short.

In reply, Fisher had 10 feet for his birdie and a play-off having chosen to lay up with his second, but the putt stayed high and allowed Pepperell to tap in for the win.

A relieved Pepperell told Sky Sports: "I need a glass of wine and more than that I think!

"What a day. Oli made it really tough and I made it tough for myself at the end there with the second shot on 18. I felt good all day, I was in a great place mentally and kept telling myself I'm going to win this and Oli certainly made life more interesting.

"Relief I guess is the number one emotion, as is always the case with a win - although I haven't had many."

Fisher, whose sole European Tour win to date came in the 2011 Czech Open, told European Tour Productions: "It went all the way to the last hole, which I guess after my front nine is what I was hoping for.

"I hit a lot of good shots on the back nine but just made too many bogeys today. I made four bogeys and you're never going to win a tournament making that many mistakes on a Sunday, but at least I pressed him all the way. It's not the result I wanted but there was some good stuff there."

Sweden's Marcus Kinhult carded a closing 68 to finish third on 16 under, with Renato Paratore, Pablo Larrazabal, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Gregory Havret all a shot further back.

Day three report

England's Oli Fisher birdied the closing four holes to storm through the pack in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters thanks to a third-round 65.

Fisher, a close friend of Rory McIlroy, rolled in a succession of mid-range putts late on Saturday to join compatriot Eddie Pepperell, who birdied the par-five 18th to shoot 66 and share the lead.

Pepperell played largely error-free golf but was fortunate not to play his way out of contention at the dangerous par-four 12th, where his approach came up short yet found a patch of grass in among the rocks which guard the green.

Handed a break, Pepperell was unable to capitalise as his third ricocheted back towards him, then hit his fourth heavy to remain in the hazard, but spectacularly holed his fifth to make bogey when three or four shots seemed certain to disappear.

The Oxfordshire pro followed that stroke of fortune with a birdie at the par-three 13th before two in the closing three returned him to the top of the leaderboard.

"I would say that was my best round of the week, especially with the position I was in going into the day. I hit a lot of good shots, I maybe lost a little feeling through the turn, but I bounced back nicely and I didn’t let it bother me.

"That’s a nice score on a Saturday and coming down the last few holes, certainly down the last seeing Oli on 16-under, I didn’t want to finish behind the leader so I’m happy to be at least tied."

Two shots back in third is Sean Crocker, the promising young American making eagle at the driveable 16th for the second day in succession and playing the back nine in 31 strokes, just as he had on Friday, to move into contention.

Crocker is playing on invitations without a European Tour card and has taken full advantage, bagging three top-10 finishes since the start of the season having only turned professional last autumn.

David Horsey posted the early clubhouse target with a round of 65 and ended the day four behind, tied for fourth alongside Italian duo Andrea Pavan and Lorenzo Gagli, Swedish starlet Marcus Kinhult and French veteran Gregory Havret.

It was a disappointing day for Ben Coley's selections with 66/1 Stephen Gallacher falling from tied second to 33rd courtesy of a 74, while George Coetzee's late rally for a 71 still saw him fall from two adrift to six and with 15 players ahead of him.

Erik van Rooyen, playing alongside Pepperell in the final group, plummeted from second to 52nd with a round of 76 - 10 shots worse than his Friday score and the 77th highest score of the 78 players who made the cut.

Day two report

Spain's Adrian Otaegui produced a blistering finish to move to the top of a crowded leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Otaegui, Sky Bet's 7/1 favourite to win the tournament, birdied the last three holes at Doha Golf Club to add a second round of 66 to his opening 67 and finish 11 under par, a shot ahead of Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, England's Eddie Pepperell, France's Gregory Havret and South African Erik van Rooyen.

Gallacher was tipped at 66/1 to lift the trophy by our golf expert Ben Coley before the tournament started and he's now a 10/1 chance with Sky Bet.

George Coetzee, picked at 28/1 by Coley, is a shot further back.

On another day of low scoring in unusually calm conditions, the halfway cut fell at a record four under par and means the remaining 78 players are separated by just seven shots.

"I know I'm playing well, I'm confident with my game at the moment and I'm just trying to keep my momentum going," said Otaegui, who won his maiden European Tour title in the Paul Lawrie Match Play last year.

"I'm really looking forward to the weekend now. I just wanted to stay patient hole after hole and we'll see what happens."

Gallacher, who is something of a desert specialist after winning back-to-back titles in Dubai, told Sky Sports: "It depends on the elements. If it's windy and you break 70 you've got a good score. If it's flat calm it'll be like the first day. We'll see what the weather's like and just try to be in contention coming down the stretch on Sunday."

The highlight of Gallacher's bogey-free 66 was a birdie from 50 feet on the 13th, while American Sean Crocker is part of a 10-strong group on nine under after finishing eagle, par, eagle in his 68.

Crocker drove the green on the short par-four 16th and holed from 30 feet, before a superb long-iron approach on the last set up another eagle from six feet.

France's Raphael Jacquelin made the third albatross on Tour in four weeks when holed out from 245 yards on the 10th on his way to a 66 and a share of 11th on eight under par.

Former Ryder Cup players Chris Wood and Jamie Donaldson are a shot further back, with Donaldson's 65 equalling the lowest score of the day.

South Africa's Zander Lombard also shot a 65 which included seven birdies in nine holes, but missed the cut by a single shot following an opening 76.

Day one report

A change of coach and a couple of glasses of red wine helped Eddie Pepperell claim a share of the lead after the opening round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Pepperell fired eight birdies and a solitary bogey to card a seven-under-par 65 at Doha Golf Club which was matched by fellow Englishman Aaron Rai and France's Gregory Havret.

Former winner Alvaro Quiros, Italy's Edoardo Molinari, England's Oliver Fisher and Germany's Marcel Schneider were a shot off the pace on a day when unusually calm conditions led to plenty of low scores, with 91 players breaking par.

"I played well and surprised myself really out there," Pepperell told Sky Sports.

"I made a change this week with personnel, just working on a couple of new things and I surprised myself with how well I managed to trust it and hit some quality tee shots as well.

"That's the area I feel like I've been struggling with again a bit lately but the whole game felt good.

"It's always tough to go out on to the golf course and take it out there. It's been pretty nice on the range although yesterday was a bit of a grind, a bit of a struggle in the afternoon so I was in my room in my boxers doing some drills last night!

"I even prepared with a couple of glasses of red wine last night, maybe for the pain, but it was really good.

"This week there's definitely a feeling of the bigger picture for me than tomorrow and indeed the weekend. I want to keep working on what I'm working on, go out there and try do the best I can with it."

Havret, who was runner-up to Graeme McDowell in the 2010 US Open and has not won since 2008, carded seven birdies in his 65, including six in eight holes from the sixth.

Rai, who won three times on the Challenge Tour in 2017 to gain automatic promotion to the European Tour, recorded five birdies and finished his round in style with an eagle on the par-five 18th.

Pepperell is 14/1 with Sky Bet, but it's Ben Coley's 35/1 tip Thomas Detry who heads the betting at 12/1 after moving to within two of the leaders.

Related links

• Sky Bet's latest Qatar Masters odds