Kitayama Looking for Back-to-Back Wins on Doha Debut

American rookie Kurt Kitayama is hoping to ride the crest of a wave after winning last week’s Oman Open and make it two-in-two with victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which gets underway on Thursday at Doha Golf Club.

“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” said the American, who bounced back from a quadruple bogey to win in Muscat. “I’m taking it all in and enjoying it. It was such a long day, and then I had to rush to the airport to get to Qatar. I’ve not had the chance to think about it. I still have a few more weeks on the road, and maybe we’ll celebrate when we get back to America.”

Kitayama came through Qualifying School to earn his European Tour card for 2019 and quickly made his breakthrough at the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita in December. He followed that victory with a top-15 finish the following week and is hoping for a similar run this week.

“I need to ride the wave,” he said. “I’m playing well. When I won in Mauritius I continued that form into the SA Open and hopefully I can do the same here. I want to take last weeks’ confidence into this week.

The 26-year-old got a first look at Doha Golf Club for a practice round on Monday and was impressed with what he saw.

“The course is a great layout,” he said. “I played nine holes yesterday and nine today, so I’ll be taking it all in. It’s supposed to be windy all week, so it’s going to be a bit of a grind. The greens are quite firm, a little soft in the morning but yesterday afternoon they were like rocks. Some of the holes go into side-winds as well, so that makes it a little tougher.”

Kitayama is looking to follow in the footsteps of Jeunghun Wang (2017) and Ernie Els (2005) as winners of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters on their debut.

The first round is set for Thursday and entrance to all four days of competition at Doha Golf Club is free of charge for spectators.