Retief Goosen of South Africa produced a miraculous finish to claim a one-stroke victory at the expense of Australian Nick O'Hern in the tenth Commercialbank Qatar Masters.
The double US Open Champion was two shots down with two holes remaining before pulling off a remarkable birdie, eagle finish at the Doha Golf Club to deny a heartbroken O'Hern, who had to settle for the seventh runners-up finish of his career.
Goosen, the World Number Eight, signed off with a three under par 69 for a winning total of 15 under par 273 to claim his 14th European Tour victory in the event jointly sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian Tour.
O'Hern, who closed with a 70, had looked poised for a long-awaited European Tour breakthrough when a birdie on the 16th pulled him two strokes clear but the cool South African found a lifeline with a birdie on the 17th, almost holing out with a nine iron, and then raised the roof by draining a 30 foot eagle putt on the par five 18th hole as the left-handed Aussie could only par home.
World Number Five Ernie Els of South Africa, the 2005 champion, rallied with a 67 to finish third a further stroke back while Stuart Appleby came charging through the field with a 66 to finish joint fourth on 12 under par 276 with fellow Australian Richard Green (72) and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who closed with a 67.
The victory was a relief for Goosen, who decided to work with a swing coach last year after a less than fruitful season with only one victory at the Volkswagen Masters-China on the Asian Tour. "It's a great feeling to have a European Tour win under the belt again. It's been a while since I last had a win," said Goosen.
"Nick played obviously great. He didn't drive it as well today as he normally does which was surprising. Obviously I never looked like winning, I thought if I could get it to 14 tied with him, but I hit a great putt on the last.
"Having won this early, I'm now looking forward to the year," he added.
Victory earned Goosen €282,743 and lifted him to second on The European Tour Order of Merit.
With his back against the ropes, Goosen knew he needed something special and like all great players, he pulled off the spectacular. "After the 15th, I said to my caddie, Colin, you know, we somehow need to get to 15 under.
"I hit a good three wood on the 16th and went for it but hit a poor chip shot and a poor putt. But then I made two great finishing holes for me. On the 18th, I never hit the fairway once all week and finally I hit a good drive and hit a good three wood," said Goosen.
O'Hern, the co-overnight leader with Richard Green and Goosen, was expecting at least a play-off in front of record crowds before the South African rolled in the unlikely eagle putt. "Two up with two to play, I thought I was in good shape," said O'Hern.
"I didn't hit the ball well at all but just my short game kept the round going, which is what it's all about. You know, if I would have given myself a chance to make birdie on the last; the tee shot missed the fairway by a couple of yards and I just had a horrible lie. But if I had a wedge in my hand, I might have had a chance. I wasn't really expecting him to make eagle, but as they say, expect the unexpected. It's pretty frustrating," said O'Hern.
Els, who started the day four back, charged up the leaderboard but a glorious finish of three birdies over his closing four holes saw his title hopes come up short. At the end, missed birdie putts on the 14th and 17th proved decisive in his bid for a winning start to his New Year campaign.
"You know, you can't ever give up. Golf is a crazy game as we know. You might chip it in, you might hole a second shot. Something crazy might happen so you always try to keep your options open and keep trying to give yourself a chance for a birdie or an eagle.
"The 14th hole, I can't believe that putt missed. The front nine I was a little scrappy again. Then the back nine I really played nicely. It was really enjoyable," said Els.
