Eagle helps Goosen soar
Retief Goosen produced a superb eagle on the 18th to leapfrog Nick O’Hern at the top of the leaderboard and capture the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The win had looked unlikely for the South African after he made an indifferent start to the final day, carding just one birdie and a bogey on the front nine.
He added another birdie on the 10th but a bogey on the 15th looked to have ended his challenge.
But a thrilling final two holes in which he birdied the par-three 17th and then eagled the last ensured a three-under-par 69 to finish 15 under overall.
Goosen has looked impressive since the start of the tournament, carding a seven-under 65 in the opening round and maintaining his form for the rest of the event.
But he was pushed all the way by O’Hern over the weekend, who was unlucky not to record his first European Tour victory after carding a two-under-par 70 for a 14-under 274.
Ernie Els threatened to gatecrash the leaders though as he put in a superb performance on the back nine to climb to 13 under, having started the day four shots behind the leaders.
He carded three birdies and two bogeys in his first nine holes but shot four birdies coming home for a five-under 67.
Richard Green dropped to fourth alongside fellow Australian Stuart Appleby and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who both enjoyed excellent rounds on the final day, carding 66 and 67 respectively.
Last year’s winner Henrik Stenson did not make enough birdies to give himself a hope of retaining his title.
He carded three birdies and two bogeys for a one-under 71 and finished 11 under overall.
Meanwhile, Edward Michaels endured a disappointing day on the course after he had put himself into contention yesterday.
The American, who was playing in his first tournament for over a year after battling back from a shoulder injury, had started just two shots behind the leaders after his three-under 69 in the third round.
But he had a poor run on the front nine where he carded just one birdie, bogeyed the first and ninth and double-bogeyed the par-three third.
He fared little better coming home where he made just one birdie before dropping two shots for a four-over 76 to finish six under overall.
Paul Lawrie had been well placed to challenge but he failed to produce a single birdie on his outward nine and though he birdied the 10th, a bogey on the 18th meant he finished nine under.
Paul McGinley finished a shot behind under after he failed to carry a good performance on from the front nine.
The Irishman carded four successive birdies from the first and dropped one shot but just one birdie on the back nine and another bogey ended his slim hopes of challenging.
