GOLF/Dubai Desert Classic: If his mind was elsewhere, as so many others admitted theirs were, it didn't unduly affect Alastair Forsyth's golf, writes Philip Reid in in Dubai.
Indeed, after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club yesterday, the Scot found himself in a position few have managed this season - ahead of Ernie Els, even if it was only by a shot - and proving it is far better to concentrate on the present rather than hypothesise about the future.
Normally, the only occupational hazard associated with being a professional golfer is that the odd stray shot may strike some part of the anatomy. For many competing here, however, the military manoeuvrings further up the Gulf coast - and closer to where next week's Qatar Masters is due to take place - have led to some players taking their eye off the ball, as it were.
They fear, despite reassurances from the powers-that-be, the tour is taking unnecessary risks in going ahead with next week's tournament.
Forsyth, for one, has all but decided he won't be going to Qatar. All he has yet to do is to officially withdraw - as Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood have already done - while Greg Owen, two shots off the pace here in Dubai, is also preparing to pull out.
"I've a baby daughter," he said, "and I want to see her grow up."
Such fears, though, haven't influenced either Padraig Harrington or Paul McGinley to change their intended plans to compete in Qatar. McGinley was asked if the recommendation from the British Foreign Office not to travel would hold any weight with him. "I'm Irish," he reminded his questioner, "and I'll wait for word from my own Government and they haven't said anything. I think Bertie's got his hands full right now with the North."
McGinley's desire to play in Qatar stems from a belief that he needs to play as many tournaments as he can. "There's a lull coming up in the schedule and I need tournaments under my belt. I've no qualms about going.
"In a worst-possible-case scenario, if war broke out and the tournament was called off and flights were abandoned, I'd get in a car and drive back here (to Dubai)," he said. "But I could even see a case where if war broke out that the tournament could still go ahead."
The PGA European Tour's executive director, Ken Schofield, has spent the last couple of days in Qatar and yesterday told all players that everything was "complete and secure" and contingency plans were in place should they be required.
While the question of Qatar going ahead proved an important side issue for many players, the fact is it was a case of getting on with the job in Dubai yesterday - and, typical of his early-season form which has seen him win twice on the US Tour and twice on the European Tour already this year, Els, the world number two, was among those to the fore on a day of low scoring.
Els went around in 66 strokes, which makes him a rather incredible 106 under par for the 21 rounds of golf he has played this year. Forsyth, however, went one better on the day but, knowing who was on his shoulder, admitted: "It would be daft to say it doesn't matter who is behind you. Obviously, if Ernie is sitting there, it is a different ball game . . . but it is the same old story; if you want to win, you have got to beat everyone."
On a day when no less than 66 players managed to break par, only one Irish player managed to do so. Darren Clarke played beautifully but only shot a 70 - which included 32 putts - while Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy found different ways to shot level par 72. McGinley, as he put it, also "scrapped" his way to a 72 but Harrington, who had been bothered by a neck injury over the preceding days, signed for a 73.
Harrington believes the neck muscle injury was caused by "five hours spent on the putting green" on Monday but extensive physiotherapy meant he "wasn't bothered" by it by the time he teed off yesterday. What did cause him problems, however, was his putting. Ironically, prior to play, he was handed a badge to wear on his cap to acknowledge his position as number one on the putting statistics. His play on the greens, however, put a question mark over that as he accumulated a rather gruesome 35 putts.
"It was just one of those days, and you simply have to grin and bear it. My concentration was poor, which is typical of me in the early part of the season. It's only my seventh competitive round in almost three months and I know that my focus will improve," insisted Harrington.
For the moment, however, Harrington is one of those playing catch-up on Forsyth and, at eight shots adrift, has much work to do. The man closest to Forsyth, though, is Els and he played some exquisite golf. And when the wheels did threaten to come off, the South African executed some wonderful recovery shots: like his greenside bunker shot on the sixth, his 15th, which he very nearly holed; like on the eighth, where he missed a fairway and finished under palm trees in the desert waste and "scooted" a five-iron under the trees to the back of the green.
Although he trails by one Els remains the man to beat.
