Oosthuizen has a remarkable record of success in his first event of the calendar year, winning the Africa Open in 2011 and 2012 and following that with consecutive victories in the Volvo Golf Champions in 2013 and 2014.

Injury meant the South African did not start his 2015 campaign until March, but his first event produced a sixth-placed finish in the WGC-Cadillac Championship and he went on to lose out in a play-off for the Open and finish joint second in the US Open.

The 33-year-old has not played competitively since finishing joint 11th in the Nedbank Golf Challenge on December 6, but believes he is in the right frame of mind for another good start to the year after a holiday in Namibia with his family.

“I think I am well rested,” Oosthuizen told a pre-tournament press conference. “I didn’t touch golf clubs since the Nedbank up until last week. The first round was very shaky, didn’t make a birdie I think, but then sort of picked up quickly.

“After a good break, you want to go back out on the golf course again. You want to play and I think a lot of times with the schedules we have these days, you lose that a bit, to be hungry again just to go out and play. I got a bit of that back again after a big break.”

Oosthuizen’s fellow South African Branden Grace will attempt to become the first player to win back-to-back titles at Doha Golf Club.

And Oosthuizen belives that Grace could become the first player ever to win back-to-back Qatar Masters because of the windy conditions.

He said: “He grew up with it. We grew up close to each other back in South Africa and he obviously likes this golf course, so I’ll never write him off.”