Marc Warren encouraged despite near miss

• Scot satisfied with week’s work in Qatar
• Finished second, just one behind winner Branden Grace
• “Overall, it was a massively positive week”

He might have come up agonisingly short in his bid to win the Qatar Masters but Scotland’s Marc Warren said he would take nothing but positives from his performance in the Gulf.

The Glaswegian, 33, lost out to South Africa’s Branden Grace by just one shot after mounting a late charge for the title that saw him play his last ten holes in six-under-par.

That sizzling run, he insisted, would be his abiding memories of a week that propelled him to 56th on the official world golf rankings.

“Overall, it was a massively positive week,” said Warren, who hoped to emulate his fellow Scots Paul Lawrie and Andrew Coltart by winning the tournament. “The last ten holes, I think it’s some of the best golf I’ve ever played to be honest.”

The three-time European Tour winner added: “It’s a second place but it’s not like I haven’t kind of made any mistakes coming in. It was exactly the opposite. It was kind of foot down and go forward. I felt like I was swinging well the last few holes. I was going at flags and the putts were going in. Overall, it was a really exciting day.”

“The Middle East is one of the places I’ve always wanted to win.” – Branden Grace

For Grace, the win was his eighth as a professional and sixth on the European Tour. Impressive work for someone who is still just 26-years-old.

An outstanding eagle at the 16th hole proved to be decisive, a superb drive to four feet setting giving him the opportunity to grab the lead

It was a great day, a great week, and it’s another trophy to put in the cupboard,” said Grace. “I’ve got to thank Callaway– that driver on 16 to four feet; without that it wouldn’t be possible.”

The victory was Grace’s second of the 2015 European Tour season, following his earlier win in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa. It also continued his impressive streak of winning every time he has held the lead going into the final round.

“This morning, I woke up, I went through a little bit of the previous videos of when I won just to try to get me in the right frame of mind and it worked,” he added. “It was a nice way to wake up.

“The Middle East is one of the places I’ve always wanted to win. I’ve thought my game suits these types of golf courses, and I play well when I come here.

“These are big now, so this is one of the wins that’s really putting me back on the map now. I think I’ll be in the top 50 or just outside .

“These are the things that we need as golfers to push us to the next level – it’s just nice that I could do it at a place like this and in a special way like this.”

Marc Warren :: Can he force his way into the world’s top 50?

Sitting just outside it as things stands, will Scotland’s Marc Warren force his way into the world’s top 50 in time to book a place in the Masters? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor