Alvaro Quiros wins Qatar Masters

Alvaro Quiros has won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy by three shots from Henrik Stenson and Louis Ooisthuizen.

The Spaniard began the last round with a one-stroke lead over the field but three bogeys in the first eight holes opened the door for his nearest rivals. Quiros then put his foot on the accelerator and birdied four of the next five to take control. But, when his second shot found the water on the 15th, it looked as though he might crumble. The 26-year-old kept his composure, however, and got up and down to salvage a miraculous bogey five.

Birdies at the 16th and 17th put the title beyond his playing partner Oosthuizen and that left only Stenson in the hunt. The Swede gave it everything down the stretch making an eagle at the 10th then an excellent birdie at the 15th. But, he failed to birdie the short par 4 16th and then three-putted the final green for a bogey six.

That meant Quiros had a three shot lead to play with down the 72nd hole and he made absolutely certain of claiming his third European Tour title, with a regulation par 5.

“At the beginning of the year I was trying to get into the top 50 in the world." Said Quiros who moves into the top 30 with this win. "After Abu Dhabi, my game was good, but now I'm very close to the Majors. The most important thing is I'm qualified for the Match Play and it's the first World Golf Championships I will play and it's very important for me."

Oosthuizen, who also finished second last week in Abu Dhabi, struggled to get anything going through the final round. He missed a number of greens early in the round and couldn’t find top form with his putter. But, a crucial birdie at the closing hole lifted him into a tie for second place with Stenson.

Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy Doha GC, Doha, Qatar Jan 22-25, purse €1,925,000, par 72

1    Alvaro Quiros (Esp)    69    67    64    69    269    €314,000 T2    Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)    67    65    69    71    272    €163,844 T2    Henrik Stenson (Swe)    66    72    66    68    272    €163,844 4    Damien McGrane (Ire)    69    69    70    67    275    €94,321 T5    Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 66 71    70    69    276    €73,005 T5    Maarten Lafeber (Ned)    68    70    66    72    276    €73,005 T7    Andrew Coltart (Sco)    66    69    70    72    277    €43,689 T7    Simon Dyson (Eng)    72    70    69    66    277    €43,689 T7    Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Esp)  69 72 67    69    277    €43,689 T7    Sergio Garcia (Esp)    70    70    67    70    277    €43,689 T7    Chapchai Nirat (Tha)    69    69    69    70    277    €43,689

Note: Players in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only