Warren Little/Getty Images
South Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen plays into the 18th green during the 2019 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, the last time it was hosted by Doha Golf Club.  

By Kent Gray
The 2022 Desert Swing remains a very fluid work in progress – on the eve of the first event in Abu Dhabi.

The DP World Tour announced the postponement of the 25th Commercial Bank Qatar Masters overnight, citing “ongoing restrictions associated with the global Covid-19 pandemic.”

Originally scheduled for February 10-13, the $2 million event at Doha Golf Club will now be played “later this spring”, according to a media statement from the tour.

A second, hastily arranged $2 million tournament in RAK has been announced to fill the gap with the Ras Al Khaimah Classic set to follow the Ras Al Khaimah Championship Presented by Phoenix Capital (February 3-6).

The back-to-back RAK events, both at Al Hamra Golf Club, will follow back-to-back $8 million Rolex Series events to start the calendar year: this week’s Abu Dhabi HBSC Championship (January 20-23) and the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic (January 27-30).

When the DP World Tour originally announced its 2022 schedule, the Desert Swing had a fifth “Middle East” event pencilled in. But these are unprecedented times where the only certainty created by the pandemic is uncertainty.