Ryder Cup hero Paul McGinley, diagnosed with pneumonia at the start of the week, had to stop after nine holes of the pro-am on the eve of the Qatar Masters in red-hot Doha today.
In furnace-like conditions McGinley, one of the few stars left in a tournament hit by 50 withdrawals due to the threat of war in the region, started feeling unwell again.
He is on a course of antibiotics and still confident of starting the Stg£936,000 event tomorrow.
McGinley is one of six Irish players competing in Qatar, along with Ryder Cup team mate Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy, and Damien McGrane.
Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and last year's champion Adam Scott were two of the withdrawals from the event. Concerns over players safety stems from the fact that Qatar is approximately 500km from the Iraqi border with the venue just 40km from where the American military chief Tommy Franks is based.
PA