Dubai: Sergio Garcia held his nerve with a careful 69 to win his first Omega Dubai Desert Classic at 19 under par, three strokes clear of Henrik Stenson, at Emirates Golf Club on Sunday.
The 37-year-old Spaniard started the day three strokes clear of the 2016 Open champion at 16 under, and was up to four strokes ahead at the turn thanks to birdies on holes one and nine, with the Swede birdying the sixth.
However, Stenson started the back nine with a birdie to bring it back to a three stroke difference, before bogeying the 12th and getting two consecutive birdies on 13 and 14 to bring the deficit down to two.
Luckily for Garcia, Stenson then bogeyed the 15th which he himself then birdied, to take it back to a four-shot difference, before Stenson ended with a consolatory birdie on 18.
“Even without Henrik playing his best he’s still always there and he doesn’t give anything away,” said Garcia.
“I’m pretty happy to have played the way I played, and with the way I handled key moments to beat Henrik, because we all know how great a player he is.”
Crucial to Garcia’s efforts were saved pars on holes eight and 16. He went into the sand twice on eight and had a bad lie on the fringe of 16.
“Eight was big, it was very, very big because it was my worst drive all week. So, it was a massive save there and then to birdie nine was great. “Sixteen was important but 15 was even more so, because he was quite close with two birdies at that point, but I managed to birdie to get four clear, so that was a massive 15.”
When Stenson was up to within two strokes behind, Garcia said: “I was trying to stay positive and make sure I stayed as aggressive as possible. There were a couple of doubts here and there, but I stayed calm and was able to get it done.
“Even on 18 with a four-shot lead I knew I needed to hit a good third shot because you can mess it up there if you’re not careful. Once I hit it on the green I knew it was game over, but Henrik is always there so you have to stay calm and collected with him.”
With this win, Garcia moves back into the world’s top 10, he also becomes the fifth Spaniard to win this event.
It’s his 12th European Tour win in 250 appearances, and his first victory on tour since the 2014 Qatar Masters.
In seven previous appearances here, he had also never recorded a top 10 finish.
“It’s always great to be in the world’s top 10, so hopefully this is just the beginning of a great year. I’m excited and hopefully there are many more good things to come, it’s just the start of the year and I’m going to try and keep it going.”
