SOUTH Africa’s Branden Grace admitted it was a dream come true after becoming the first player to successfully defend the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – as Paul Lawrie missed out on a third title thanks to a nightmare closing round of six-over-par 78.
Lawrie led by two shots going into the final day in Doha, but the Scot finished in a share of 13th place after a round that included two double bogeys and four bogeys as well as two birdies.
Grace, meanwhile, had four birdies and one bogey in a closing 69 to finish on 14 under par, two shots ahead of Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello, with Lawrie seven behind. Lawrie, who had dropped just two shots in the first 54 holes, tweeted: “Hit it poor putted awful got unlucky a few times and head up my a*** not a good combination.”
A triumphant Grace said after securing his seventh European Tour title since 2012: “It’s great. I’m pretty much at a loss for words. It’s a big thing to come to a week defending. You have a lot more pressure. But to get a first proper defence under the belt is something I’ve been dreaming of. There’s no better place to do it than Qatar. This was one of my biggest wins to date last year and set me up for a great 2015. Hopefully it will be the same again.”
Grace will remain 11th in the world rankings despite his win, but has closed to within 0.1 points of 10th place after a superb display in the windy conditions, dropping just one shot in the last 36 holes.
“I’m knocking, I’m very close,” added the 27-year-old, who finished third in the US PGA Championship and fourth in the US Open last year, as well as recording a perfect 5-0 record in the Presidents Cup. “Winning tournaments is the priority, but top 10 has been a long-time goal for me so if I can get in there, then that’s great.”
Grace, who had not finished outside the top eight in his previous four tournaments, matched Lawrie’s birdie on the first before the Scot dropped a shot on the second after his wayward drive ended up on the edge of a small bush.
Both players dropped shots on the fifth after failing to get up and down from over the green in the windy conditions, allowing Olesen to join Lawrie in the lead after his birdie on the previous hole. Grace holed from 25 feet on the sixth to make it a three-way tie and after Olesen dropped back with a bogey on the eighth, Lawrie also slipped out of the lead on the ninth.
The 47-year-old hooked his drive into the desert scrub and found the water on the other side of the fairway with his attempted recovery, eventually carding a double-bogey seven, which he followed with another double bogey at the 14th and bogeys at the 13th and 16th, before a birdie at the 17th.
At the Singapore Open, world No 1 Jordan Spieth struggled with his putting again as he ended a long 28-hole day three shots off the pace. The American signed for a one-under-par 71 after completing the remaining 12 holes of his weather-delayed second round and was one-under for 16 holes of his third round when dusk fell.
Spieth’s six-under-total left him tied fifth. Overnight leader Song Young-han of South Korea was level after 13 holes of his third round and on nine under overall.
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