REUTERS STATS REVIEW OF THE QATAR MASTERS, MARCH 10-13 - ERNIE ELS finally found the straight and narrow to claim back-to-back titles in winning the Qatar Masters on Sunday. The big South African had started hot favourite to follow up his Dubai Desert Classic success a week before with victory in Doha but an opening 73 instead left him facing his first missed cut since 1999 when he was disqualified from the German Masters.

Following the phenomenal success of the previous three years, Best Western Hotels – the largest group of independently owned hotels in Great Britain – has announced the dates of its fourth Best Western Senior Amateur Masters golf tournament. The high profile golf tournament will run throughout the summer at a selection of Best Western’s hotels throughout Great Britain - all with on-site golf facilities.

REUTERS STATS PREVIEW FOR THE TCL CLASSIC, YALONG BAY, SANYA, HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA, MARCH 17-20 - THE LOWDOWN: The par-72, 7,116-yard Yalong Bay Golf Club offers a new challenge to the PGA European Tour golfers in every sense of the word. Constructed in China’s holiday paradise Hainan Island by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, it was opened for business just five years ago and only added to the Tour schedule earlier in 2005. Tournament director Miguel Vidaor reports from China that the Tour’s course managers have barely had time to mould it into shape.

REUTERS STATS REVIEW OF THE DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC , MARCH 3-6 - ERNIE ELS produced one of his finest ever displays of power and accuracy from the tee to steal his third Dubai Desert Classic title from Miguel Angel Jimenez and Stephen Dodd at the Emirates Club on Sunday.

This is one of the first interviews we ever did for this site. Its re-posted as a tribute to Max Faulkner who died earlier this week. Mr Faulkner was 84 in August 2001 when he came to Nailcote Hall to take part in a Pro-Am being held as a curtain raiser to the British Professional Short Course Championships, a special event held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his Open Championship win.

Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo have accepted invitations from the Tournament Committee of The European Tour, ratified by The Ryder Cup Policy Board, to captain the European Teams in The 36th and 37th Ryder Cup Matches respectively. Woosnam, who celebrates his 47th birthday today (Wednesday, March 2), will be the Captain for The 36th Ryder Cup Match at The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland, from September 22-24, 2006.

REUTERS STATS PREVIEW FOR THE DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC, EMIRATES CLUB, MARCH 3-6 - THE LOWDOWN: The par-72, 7,264-yard Emirates course is one of the best-prepared and challenging on the European Tour. It made its debut on the circuit in 1989 and Mike Stewart has been tournament director for every one of them. "This is the jewel in the crown of the early-season events," he told Reuters Stats this week.