Stephen Gallacher wins Dubai Desert Classic
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher eagled the par-4 16th en-route to a three-stroke victory over Richard Sterne of South Africa in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
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Scotland's Stephen Gallacher eagled the par-4 16th en-route to a three-stroke victory over Richard Sterne of South Africa in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The Scot, who hadn't won on the European Tour for nine years, began the final round three shots clear of the South African. But his advantage was eliminated almost immediately as he opened with two straight bogeys and Sterne with a par and a birdie.
The pair traded the lead for the majority of the round until Gallacher struck the telling blow at the par-4 16th. Having watched his playing partner three-putt for bogey on the previous hole, the 38-year-old Scot holed his wedge shot from the rough for an eagle two - his fifth eagle of the week.
The two gave him a four-stroke lead and, although Sterne reduced the deficit to three with a birdie at the 17th, Gallacher was able to hold on for his first European Tour victory since the 2004 Dunhill Links Championship.
"I'm obviously delighted," he said. "It's taken a long time but hopefully I'm maturing with age! I've holed four shots this week, but you've got to do that these days to win."
The victory should push Gallacher into the top-60 on the Official World Golf Ranking and give him a place in the WGC-Accenture Matchplay. It also greatly improves his chances of moving further up, into the top-50 and securing a start at the 2013 Masters.
"It's the only Major I've never played," he said. "It would be a dream to play there, I sit and watch it in the house with the kids every year."
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Chile's Felipe Aguilar played a solid final round of 69 to finish the week in a tie for third with the, on-form, Dane Thorbjorn Olesen.
England's Lee Westwood moved up to a tie for fifth with Marcus Fraser of Australia as the pair closed with rounds of 68 and 67 respectively.
Omega Dubai Desert Classic Emirates Golf Club, Dubai Jan 31 - Feb 3, purse €1,850,000 par 72
1 Stephen Gallacher (Sco) 63 70 62 71 266 €309,233 2 Richard Sterne (RSA) 62 70 66 71 269 €206,153 T3 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 68 68 66 69 271 €104,460 T3 Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) 67 66 67 71 271 €104,460 T5 Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 69 69 67 272 €71,805 T5 Lee Westwood (Eng) 67 71 66 68 272 €71,805 T7 Robert Rock (Eng) 70 68 67 68 273 €47,870 T7 Ricardo Santos (Por) 66 71 69 67 273 €47,870 T7 Steve Webster (Eng) 69 69 65 70 273 €47,870 T10 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 65 68 69 72 274 €35,624 T10 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 68 67 67 72 274 €35,624
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage Where next? PGA Tour - Phil Mickelson wins Waste Management Phoenix Open
Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. 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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