South African Branden Grace retained his Qatar Masters title in Doha on Saturday, winning by two shots and making tournament history in the process.
The world No. 11 shot a last round 69 in the European Tour tournament to go with previous rounds of 70, 67 and 68 to finish on 14-under.
In doing so he became the first player to win back-to-back Qatar Masters titles, despite describing his chances of winning again in Doha as “slim” at the beginning of the week.
Photo: EPA
As well as the trophy, he also received a winner’s check for US$416,660.
It was his seventh European Tour victory, his first since last year in Qatar, the first time he has defended a title and he is the fifth South African to win in Doha.
Afterwards, Grace said he would return to Doha next year to try and win a hat-trick of titles.
“What a great week, it’s great to defend the title,” he said. “I can’t wait to come back next year and give it a run for the third time. I am pretty much lost for words.”
Grace took last year’s title with a score of 19-under.
However, windy and cold conditions — Grace described them as “brutal” — this year prevented such low scores.
He started the day two shots back from overnight leader Paul Lawrie, but clawed back that advantage by the eighth and a disastrous seven at the par-five-ninth from the Scot left Grace as outright leader for the first time and it was a lead he would not relinquish.
He made birdies on the 10th and 18th, following a fine approach shot.
“I enjoy tough conditions, I am a grinder,” he told reporters afterwards. “Patience is the big key, I really had to grind it out.”
The 27-year-old said he was determined to break into the world top 10 and he could be considered an outside contender for the Masters at Augusta in April.
Grace finished tied fourth at last year’s US Open and placed third at the PGA Championship.
“The Masters are a big goal for any golfer,” he said. “I feel my game is in good shape, I feel I can get there.”
Grace finished two shots ahead of Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who shot a final round of 70, and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, who birdied the last for a 71.
One shot further back were a group of players on 11-under, including Bradley Dredge and Andrew Johnson.
Overnight leader Paul Lawrie had a shocking last round, shooting a six-over-par 78, to finish at seven-under.
He made double-bogeys at the par-five-ninth and at the par-four-14th. Lawrie also made four other bogeys as he ended up finishing tied for 13th position, despite leading for most of the week.
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