Sandy Day for top Aussie
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Queensland's Jason Day has regained bragging rights as Australia's top ranked golfer after a joint runner-up finish in Qatar at the weekend.
The 24-year-old finished four shots behind a rejuvenated Paul Lawrie to jump to 7th in the world rankings, one spot above fellow Queenslander Adam Scott.
But while it was a good week for the Australian it wasn't all beer and skittles; severe sand storms on day one of the event saw him dip into his own pocket to buy a $320 pair of sunglasses in the Doha Golf Club's pro shop before hitting off.
Bernie McGuire reports on golfbytourmiss.com that Day was spotted wearing a surgical mask before play began on Thursday and even contemplated wearing it on course.
“I was thinking of putting on the surgical mask but I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to breathe,” Day said.
While dispensing with the breathing aid Day, who rarely wears sunglasses on the course, did resort to forking out for some eye protection prior to hitting off.
“The dust was getting everywhere into my hair and I felt like I had dreadlocks coming off the course.
"No wonder they were providing me with so much shampoo and conditioner at the hotel.
"I’m fortunate too as I shaved my beard off for this week and lucky I did as that would have been full of dust as well.”
The second round of the tournament was cancelled because of the extreme conditions.