Chris Wood wins Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

England's Chris Wood eagled the final hole at Doha Golf Club to beat George Coetzee of South Africa and Spain's Sergio Garcia by a single shot and win the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Chris Wood wins Qatar Masters (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
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England's Chris Wood eagled the final hole at Doha Golf Club to beat George Coetzee of South Africa and Spain's Sergio Garcia by a single shot and win the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Wood began the final round three strokes clear of the pack, but he showed nerves on the front nine as he tried to claim his first European Tour title in his 116th start on the circuit.

The 25-year-old made a double bogey at the par-3 3rd hole before dropping another shot at the 6th. At that stage he found himself two shots adrift. But the man who finished top amateur in the 2008 Open Championship rallied before the turn with birdies at the 8th and 9th holes.

He found another birdie at the 14th but still came to the last a stroke behind Goerge Coetzee and Sergio Garcia who had already completed rounds of 65 and 66 respectively.

Wood hit a monster drive down the home hole before playing a majestic 6-iron to the green. It left him with a 10-foot putt for an eagle three and a maiden European Tour victory. He calmly rolled it home and pumped the air with his fist.

"Winning on the European Tour isn't easy," he said. "This is an enormous weight off my shoulders and I feel I can go on and win more."

The victory should see Wood climb into the World's top-64, currently in a qualifying position for the Accenture World Match Play in Arizona next month.

It was another great finish for South Africa's Coetzee. He's fast becoming the Tour's "nearly man," this was his 21st top-10 on Tour.

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar Jan 23-26, purse €1,850,000 par 72

1   Chris Wood (Eng)      67   70   64   69   270   €310,917 T2   George Coetzee (RSA)   69   67   70   65   271   €162,029 T2   Sergio Garcia (Esp)   69   66   70   66   271   €162,029 T4   Alex Noren (Swe)      71   67   66   71   275   €86,188 T4   Steve Webster (Eng)   69   71   67   68   275   €86,188 T6   Branden Grace (RSA)   70   68   67   71   276   €55,966 T6   Simon Khan (Eng)   67   73   64   72   276   €55,966 T6   Anthony Wall (Eng)   66   71   70   69   276   €55,966 T9   Felipe Aguilar (Chi)   69   67   73   68   277   €33,073 T9   Victor Dubuisson (Fra)   68   72   68   69   277   €33,073 T9   Jason Dufner (USA)   71   70   67   69   277   €33,073 T9   Mikko Ilonen (Fin)   71   69   68   69   277   €33,073 T9   Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)   70   69   70   68   277   €33,073    T9   Martin Kaymer (Ger)   68   67   72   70   277   €33,073 T9   Andy Sullivan (Eng)   67   71   74   65   277   €33,073

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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