Hunter Mahan is joining the jet-setting elite next week after accepting an invitation to play in the Qatar Masters.
American to make his first trip to Qatar next week
Hunter Mahan is joining the jet-setting elite next week after accepting an invitation to play in the Qatar Masters.
The American is playing the West Coast swing but will take in a trip to Qatar instead of playing the Phoenix Open, where he is a former winner.
And while the Ryder Cup star admits that was a tough decision to make, he knows the sport is now on the global stage.
"It was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up," Mahan said. "I wanted to see if I even liked it over there, if I wanted to do it again, maybe an Abu Dhabi-Qatar swing.
"There's a lot of world ranking points right now. They kind of own all the big tournaments, other than the World Golf Championships and the majors.
"It's a big trip, but nowadays that's what you have to do. Golf is worldwide. If you want to play against the best players...if I go over and play well, it's going to mean a lot more to me than playing well here. It's just a fact."
He said that how he performs over the next five weeks will be more about his golf than his travel. After Qatar, he has Pebble Beach, Riviera and the Match Play.
"This is part of the game. This is the lifestyle. You've got to travel," Mahan added. "When you fly over there, it's not an excuse. When you fly back, it's not an excuse. It's about playing well."
