Danny Willett held his nerve for a one-shot victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday after carding a final round of 69 at Emirates Golf Club. The Englishman was put under pressure after runners up Andy Sullivan and Rafa Cabrera-Bello each birdied the 18th to set the clubhouse target at 18-under.
Willett, then tied for the lead, made a clutch birdie on the last hole to snatch the victory on 19-under par.
‘Coming down the last with all the situations that were going on. It’s just nice to know that I can dig deep there and produce. You’d love to win by five or six every time you win, but when you win in that fashion, it does feel that little bit extra special,’ he said.
South Africa’s Haydn Porteous closed with a final round two-under par 70 to finish the $2.5-million tournament tied for eighth spot and recorded his second top-10 of the year.
The 22-year-old won the Joburg Open in January for his maiden European Tour success, but struggled over the following weeks in the United Arab Emirates. He’ll be relieved to take home a share of eighth after finishing on 274 total, 14-under par and only five shots behind Willett.
Ernie Els closed with a 67 to end on 276, with his third round 74 on Saturday ruining his chances of claiming the big prize for a fourth time.
George Coetzee (final round 69) and Trevor Fisher Jnr (final round 71) ended in a tie for 28th on 278, eight off the winner.
‘Not the weekend I was hoping for but still an enjoyable week at the (Omega Dubai Desert Classic)’ said Fisher via his Twitter account. ‘Thanks for all the support.’
The other seven South Africans in the field failed to make the halfway cut.
1 -19 Danny Willett
T2 -18 Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Andy Sullivan
T4 -16 Byeong Hun An, Alvaro Quiros
T6 -15 Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson
T8 -14 Alejandro Canizares, Tyrrell Hatton, Scott Hend, Sorne Kjeldsen, Joost Luiten, Thorbjorn Olesen, Haydn Porteous, Chris Wood
T18 -12 Ernie Els
T26 -10 George Coetzee, Trevor Fisher Jnr
