Ricardo Santos’ latest PGA European Tour outing in Qatar got off to a flying start as the 30-year-old Portuguese No1 from Faro took top spot on the leader board with an opening round of 65.
That seven below par effort at the Doha Golf Club was followed by a 70 which was still good enough to retain a share of the lead along with Australian Marcus Fraser and Ryder Cup team mates Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer at the half-way stage.
Unfortunately, dreams of a second tour victory were dashed during a disastrous third round which saw Santos require 76 strokes to master the 18 holes but the Algarvean demonstrated his powers of recovery once more as he closed out the tournament with an excellent 68 to claim joint 22nd place.
