Garcia wins Dubai Desert Classic; McDowell 13th, Dunne 42nd
Graeme McDowell tied for 13th and Paul Dunne came home 42nd as Sergio Garcia claimed his 12th European Tour win with a three-shot victory over Open champion Henrik Stenson in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
McDowell (€38,643) closed with a 72 to finish 11 shots behind Garcia on eight under par as Dunne’s (€14,029) three under 69 saw him jump 12 places to 42nd on two under at the Emirates Golf Club.
After closing out the third round in near darkness on Saturday night with birdies on the 18th, the final round was set up for a fascinating battle between Ryder Cup teammates Garcia, Stenson and England’s Ian Poulter.
Garcia birdied the first hole en route to a three under par 69 to win on 19 under as Stenson (69) took second on 16 under, two shots clear of Denmark’s Lasse Jensen and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton.
Poulter (76) slipped to tied 15th as England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and American Peter Uihlein finished in tied fifth at 12 under.
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.”
The best of @TheSergioGarcia's winning round in under 150 seconds pic.twitter.com/L60rlhqiGN
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 5, 2017
The desert ➡️️ the bunker ➡️️ par save.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 5, 2017
Sergio's sand adventures at the 8th 👍 pic.twitter.com/oRweVnXHXG
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 a 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 Graeme 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, Paul 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.
