World number one Tiger Woods gifted Denmark's Thomas Bjorn the Dubai Desert Classic title today when he shot a seven on his final hole. A birdie from Bjorn on the 17th left him level with the American going to the par-5 547-yard 18th hole. Woods surprised everyone, but none more than Bjorn, when his drive hit the trees, then found the rough on the opposite side and from there he hit short of the green and ended up in the water. Bjorn calmly shot par on the hole to steal the £166,660 prize from under Woods' nose and become only the fourth player ever to give Woods a lead going into the final day and then beat him.
Bjorn was thrilled with his victory. "This is the best performance of my life by far. I know I can look him (Tiger) in the eye and take him on. He is still by far the best player in the world and people should not forget that, but the intimidation is disappearing. There's a lot of talk about him being in a slump, but that's way out of proportion. He is still playing fantastic golf - he just has not won," explained the Dane.
However, Woods, clearly disappointed, was gracious in defeat. "I didn't hit the proper tee shot at the 18th," he said. "I hit a pretty good third shot, but I was protecting against a flyer - and I didn't get it. I had an opportunity, but I just made a couple of mistake which cost me. I didn't feel as comfortable as I needed to with my swing and my putting stroke, but hats off to Thomas. He played well and he deserves the title. He played really solid all day," he added.
Bjorn ended the day on 22 under par - a record score - leaving Woods sharing second spot with Dubliner Padraig Harrington on 20 under. Harrington actually had a share of the lead with Woods going into the back nine but then suffered two bogeys at the 12th and 15th to put himself out of the running. However, it is his third top two finish in four weeks, something he should be very proud of. "There was good and bad about the way I played," he said afterwards. "I was in a really good flow until I lost my rhythm on the 14th tee. There was somebody just behind the tee who raised their hands to their eyes just as I was driving. I got away with par there, but then I pulled a seven-iron at the next and didn't make a good drive down the 16th," he added.
This latest result means that Harrington is now up to third spot in the Ryder Cup points table and is very close to securing his spot on Sam Torrance's team with six months to go before the tournament gets underway.
Of the rest of the Irish, Paul McGinley finished at 15 under par with Eamonn Darcy one shot further behind on 14 under. Des Smyth finished at 7 under with Darren Clarke at 5 under.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
