The UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood felt his putter let him down once again as the 26-year-old carded a one-under-par 71 on the opening day of the International Series Qatar.
Starting his round on the 10th hole, the UAE’s No. 2 professional golfer made a strong opening with a birdie but quickly slipped over par after back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th, both a result of missed greens.
A birdie on the 17th brought him back to even par, and he built momentum with six consecutive pars before notching two birdies on the 6th and 7th to move to two under.
However, a bogey on his penultimate hole, the 8th, left him signing for a 71.
Reflecting on his round at Doha Golf Club, Grenville-Wood expressed frustration with his putter, which he felt had let him down once again this season.
“The round was fine, I hit it really well, but I just couldn’t make anything on the greens – story of my year,” Grenville-Wood told Gulf News.
“I had three 3-putts and missed countless putts inside ten feet, so a pretty frustrating day.”
Just above the cut line, Grenville-Wood knows some of those missed putts will need to drop if he is to make the weekend at a venue that holds one of the greatest moments of his career.
Two years ago, he tied for sixth at the Qatar Masters, marking his best finish on the DP World Tour and earning him a significant payday.
He’ll be hoping to draw on those memories as he prepares for a challenging day tomorrow, with winds in Doha expected to gust up to 30 km/h.
“Yeah, my memories of the place are good,” he said.
“I think it's my fourth time playing here now in a tournament. I've always played well, here, made it to the weekend and been able to put up a score.
“It’s nice to come back here. I always feel like I can play well around here.”
Grenville-Wood will hope to avoid the worst of those aforementioned gusts, with his 6:05 a.m. tee time scheduled before the strong winds are expected to reach Qatar’s capital.
“We’ve had a couple of windy days here in the past,” he said.
“I’m away at the crack of dawn tomorrow, so I think we’ll miss a lot of the high winds. I think I’ve got lucky with the draw.”
This week’s field features 18 LIV Golf stars, and while Grenville-Wood didn’t play alongside any of them today, he did share a practice round with Anthony Kim on Tuesday.
Kim, who returned to competitive golf earlier this year as a LIV Golf wildcard, is playing his first full season after a 12-year hiatus.
“It was sick (great),” said Grenville-Wood of playing with the former Ryder Cupper.
“I kind of grew up watching AK you know playing in the 2000s, so to be able to play with them was great experience.
“He’s such a nice guy, still swings it here and has a lot of knowledge and cool stories.”
South Africa’s Ian Snyman leads the penultimate event of the International Series after an impressive seven-under-par 65. He sits one shot ahead of compatriot Louis Oosthuizen, Spain’s David Puig, and American Zach Bauchou, who each posted 66s.
