Aussie golf aces outshone by 13-yr-old prodigy in Qatar

If Australia's battle-hardened European tour performer Jason Scrivener was a little fed up about his opening round at the Qatar Masters, then imagine how he must have felt when learning how a 13-year-old kid had just recorded a better 18 holes.

No wonder Daniil Sokolov, a Russian boy who now represents Qatar and has been given a special invite into the $US2.5 million ($A4.0 million) event, was the talk of Doha Golf Club on Thursday as he recorded a commendable three-over-par 75 in the opening round.

That was one shot better than Scrivener, whose currently No.23 in the tour's Race to Dubai, and the same as David Micheluzzi, the Australian who's currently 16th in the order of merit list.

Born in 2011, 13-year-old Daniil Sokolov shot an opening round of 75 on home soil 🙌#CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/GsR55nOxgO— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 6, 2025

Elvis Smylie, the Australian PGA winner, who's the leading Aussie on the tour this year in seventh place in the race, at least had the satisfaction of outshooting the youngster by one shot with his 74, which was also matched by compatriot Daniel Gale.

Sokolov actually did better than 25 of the players in the field. He birdied two of the first four holes but picked up four bogeys and a double to drop into a tie for 105th when play was suspended for the day.

Sokolov also played at the Qatar Masters last year, aged 12, when he shot rounds of 78 and 82, missing the cut.

He's not the youngest lad ever to play a European tour event, as Chinese player Ye Wo-cheng was also 12 when he competed in the 2013 China Open.

Sokolov is represented by the Modest! management group run by One Direction singer and golf enthusiast, Niall Horan.

Sokolov was born in South Korea and moved to Qatar with his parents from Tokyo when he was aged five, and he's already won one World Amateur Golf Ranking tournament, the Jordan Junior Open in May 2024 - by a staggering 14 shots.

While the youngster was enjoying the spotlight, Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Englishman Brandon Robinson Thompson were tied for the lead after both shooting six-under 66s.

So so close to a @LaurieCanter hole-in-one! #CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/eFwiIk8XKD— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 6, 2025

Another English player Laurie Canter almost made a hole-in-one as he delivered a strong start to his bid for back-to-back tour victories, following his win in the Bahrain Championship.

His tee shot on the eighth hole caught the edge of the hole and finished just inches away to set up the first of five birdies in an eight-hole stretch in an opening four-under-par 68.

"That was exciting. I actually thought that was going to go in," said a slightly disappointed Canter.

With agencies