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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Sergio Garcia and his trophy at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic (Getty Images)
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DUBAI, UAE - Sergio Garcia lifted the Omega Dubai Desert Classic trophy as he sealed his 12th European Tour win with a three shot victory over Open Champion Henrik Stenson taking a $2,650,000 prize.
The Spaniard got off to a flying start on the final day at the Emirates Golf Club, picking up a birdie at the first hole en route to a three under par 69, to make it 19 under for the tournament.
After closing out the third round in near darkness on Saturday night with a birdie apiece on the 18th, the final round was set up for a fascinating battle between Ryder Cup team mates Garcia, Stenson and England’s Ian Poulter in glorious sunshine on the final day.
While Poulter had a disappointing final day, ending with a four over 76, Stenson managed to cut Garcia’s lead to one after back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th.
Garcia responded magnificently with a brilliant approach to within a couple of feet for an easy birdie on 15 as Stenson dropped a shot to allow Garcia to establish an unassailable three stroke advantage with three holes to play.
Stenson ended the day with his own round of 69 to take second spot on 16 under, two clear of Denmark’s Lasse Jensen and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, while England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and American Peter Uihlein finished in tied fifth at 12 under.
Player quotes
Sergio Garcia: “It feels pretty good to be sitting next to this trophy. It was a great week for me obviously and to be able to finish off the week like I did today makes it very special. We know Henrik will always come at you and he got on that run on the back nine to get within one shot. He hit it right over the flag on 15 and I knew he would have a tough up and down.
“To be able to hit the shot I hit with a six iron there was massive to give myself a kick-in birdie, and then obviously he made bogey. So I got back to four up to and then it was just a matter of staying calm, collected the last three holes and you know, that good enough to win.
“When I get to Augusta, U.S. Open, the British Open, PGA, I just want to do the best I can. Just like I try any other week. So that's not going to change.
“Some weeks I'm really good like this week, and some weeks are not quite as good. But it doesn't mean that I'm not trying. So at the end of the day the only thing I can do is give my best out there and if I leave the course feeling like I gave it everything then I am trying. Some days I don’t feel as comfortable but it doesn't mean that you're not trying as hard – it’s just not that easy. You know, golf is tough.
“You know, we try to play as well as we can every single week, and you know, I'm going to keep trying and give myself more shots, more chances at majors and you know, see what happens.”
Henrik Stenson: “Obviously I was chasing all day and I was trying to push, even though I didn't play my best. With that birdie on 14, I was hoping I was going to be able to make it a bit interesting coming into the last couple of holes. If you're one or two behind, with 17 and 18, a lot of things can happen. You can eagle and someone else can end up in trouble.
“I was trying hard to push, and yeah, we picked the wrong wind and I hit the wrong shot at the same time. I airmailed the green on 15 and that led to bogey. And Sergio hit a good shot to three feet and then it was pretty much game, set and match.
“I'm happy with the progress I've made here over the last couple of weeks. I came into Abu Dhabi with virtually no practice and I didn't have much time to practice there, either. My game is getting in the right direction, and to be able to contend and only be a few behind, even though you're not feeling your best, it's always nice.”
Lasse Jensen: “Well, I didn't do a lot wrong, really. I played very, very solid and had a strong finish here on the back nine.
“In Abu Dhabi I had a fever, and then last week I was trying to recover. And then everything just clicked this week. It was maybe a bit surprising that I actually played so well this week because I feel like my game was getting where I want it to be but I thought maybe it would take a bit more time to get out of winter and get the rust out of the system.
“This is huge, and obviously it gives me a lot of boost and confidence for the next couple of weeks.”
Tyrrell Hatton: “Obviously it was a decent round. A little bit frustrating at times – it was annoying to leave that putt short on 18. I had three putts today that were straight downhill and felt it was impossible to leave them short and left three of them short.
“But, you know, it's been a fantastic week. Starting Saturday morning, I was plus one for the tournament, so if you had told me I'd finish tied third, I probably would have been quite surprised. It’s been an incredible eight months for me. I'm really happy with how this season started, and hopefully I can continue the good form.”
Fourth round scores:
269 S Garcia (Esp) 65 67 68 69,
272 H Stenson (Swe) 68 68 67 69,
274 T Hatton (Eng) 72 70 65 67, L Jensen (Den) 69 70 70 65,
276 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 69 72 68 67, P Uihlein (USA) 69 68 70 69,
277 G Coetzee (RSA) 66 70 70 71, B Stone (RSA) 70 69 70 68,
278 M Carlsson (Swe) 71 68 71 68, S Gallacher (Sco) 72 71 69 66,
279 N Elvira (Esp) 67 68 72 72, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 71 69 69 70,
280 G McDowell (Nir) 68 72 68 72, R Jacquelin (Fra) 70 71 66 73,
281 I Poulter (Eng) 67 71 67 76, T Jaidee (Tha) 70 71 73 67, C Paisley (Eng) 71 66 70 74, P Meesawat (Tha) 69 68 68 76,
282 M Kieffer (Ger) 69 70 70 73, C Wood (Eng) 70 72 68 72, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 72 71 70 69, A Lahiri (Ind) 69 75 70 68,
283 J Campillo (Esp) 68 75 69 71, J Morrison (Eng) 71 70 69 73, J Lagergren (Swe) 72 70 71 70, J Smith (Eng) 69 73 71 70, J Luiten (Ned) 71 71 68 73, L Westwood (Eng) 71 74 67 71, M Kaymer (Ger) 71 69 69 74, T Pieters (Bel) 71 71 70 71, C Luck (am) (Aus) 72 68 68 75,
284 B Dredge (Wal) 71 74 71 68, G Green (Mas) 70 74 68 72, D Fichardt (RSA) 71 70 69 74, M Ilonen (Fin) 69 73 72 70, B Wiesberger (Aut) 73 70 70 71, J Walters (RSA) 71 70 70 73, T Olesen (Den) 69 76 72 67,
285 G Storm (Eng) 74 68 71 72, L Haotong (Chn) 70 73 72 70, J Scrivener (Aus) 74 71 68 72,
286 R Paratore (Ita) 69 72 70 75, P Dunne (Irl) 70 75 72 69, T Aiken (RSA) 72 72 72 70, D Lipsky (USA) 67 72 70 77, W Ormsby (Aus) 69 72 73 72, S Hend (Aus) 76 68 71 71, S Brazel (Aus) 73 70 72 71,
287 L Slattery (Eng) 72 70 76 69, S Dyson (Eng) 70 70 72 75, A Levy (Fra) 71 70 71 75, F Aguilar (Chi) 66 76 74 71, N Bertasio (Ita) 67 74 73 73,
288 M Manassero (Ita) 73 71 74 70, D Willett (Eng) 71 74 73 70,
289 P Lawrie (Sco) 70 73 74 72, M Southgate (Eng) 72 66 73 78, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 75 70 74,
290 R Wattel (Fra) 71 72 76 71,
291 R Ramsay (Sco) 73 72 76 70, S Jamieson (Sco) 69 73 72 77, R Thomas (am) (Ind) 68 75 74 74,
292 R Fox (Nzl) 68 75 75 74, N Fasth (Swe) 71 73 79 69,
293 A Knappe (Ger) 72 73 76 72, S Walker (Eng) 74 70 77 72, A Otaegui (Esp) 74 71 73 75,
294 N Holman (Aus) 71 71 82 70
The European Tour celebrates men’s professional golf on a global stage. In 2017, the European Tour International Schedule features a minimum of 48 tournaments in 26 countries, including eight Rolex Series events, all part of the Race to Dubai. The year-long competition crowns the European Tour Number One at the end of the season, a title claimed in 2016 by Henrik Stenson for the second time.
Since its formation in 1972, the European Tour has witnessed 27 Members celebrate a total of 53 Major Championship titles between them, enjoyed ten Members attaining the pinnacle of World Number One and has celebrated its diversity as players from 36 different countries have won on the Tour.
The European Tour also manages the Challenge Tour, which featured 28 tournaments in 22 countries in 2016, and the Senior Tour, which featured 13 tournaments in nine countries in 2016. It is also the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe, the body which, alongside the PGA of America, administers golf’s greatest team contest, The Ryder Cup.
The European Tour broadcasts live coverage of its tournaments to more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. It also enjoys the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with Rolex, BMW, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Emirates and Titleist as Official Partners.
The Rolex Series is the premium category of tournaments on the European Tour’s international schedule, featuring eight events each with a minimum prize fund of US$7million. It comprises: the BMW PGA Championship (May 25-28), the HNA Open de France (June 29-July 2) the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation (July 6-9), the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open (July 13-16), the Italian Open (October 12-15), the Turkish Airlines Open (November 2-5), the Nedbank Golf Challenge (November 9-12) and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 16-19), where the 2017 Race to Dubai champion will be crowned.
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