BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Branden Grace yesterday became the fourth South African to win the $2.5m Qatar Masters but not before producing a bit of dramatic golf late on the fourth evening of the European Tour-sanctioned event.
Grace won his sixth European Tour title with a dramatic one-shot victory over Scotland’s Marc Warren at the Doha Golf Club (DGC).
It was Grace’s second win in four starts this season that brought an additional $416,000 for his efforts over the weekend at DGC which was hosting the 18th edition of the event.
For the second day in succession, Grace produced magical golf – a drive to five feet on the par four 16th hole setting up a decisive eagle as he carded a bogey-free round of 66 for overall scores of 19 under par 269.
Warren, 33, could only par 18 for after a steady but minus-the-frills 67 to secure the second spot.
When pressure mounted, Warren could only par the final hole after missing the fairway and landing in the rough.
“It was a great day, a great week, and it’s another trophy to put in the cupboard,” Grace at the presentation ceremony. “I’m going to thank Callaway again – that driver again on 16 to four feet; without that it wouldn’t be possible.
“That wedge on the fifth hole, that was a shot that you want to hit but you don’t always manage it. The form has been there, I played great and I managed to get in on top,” he added.
Grace, 26, yesterday became the fourth South African to lift the ‘Mother of Pearl Trophy’ – following in the footsteps of compatriots Darren Fichardt (2003), Ernie Els (2005) and Retief Goosen (2007).
The young South African – who burst onto the world stage with an impressive four European Tour title wins three years ago – was presented with the winner’s cheque by Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi, CEO of Commercial Bank.
Qatar Golf Association (QGA) President Hassan Al Nuaimi joined Al Raisi in presenting the winner’s trophy.
“This is definitely one of the tournaments that I wanted to win, so I’m proud of myself that I managed to do it,” said Grace, who finished joint sixth in 2013 and tied for 13th last year.
“The Middle East is one of the places I’ve always wanted to win. I’ve thought my game suits these types of golf courses and I play well when I come here. I started off the season well in 2012 as well, so hopefully it’s a good season and it just continues forward.”
Earlier yesterday, Wiesberger (68) finished third at 17-under a week after the Austria No. 1 finished sixth in Abu Dhabi.
Playing steady golf throughout the week, young Englishman Eddie Pepperell (67) finished fourth on 16-under.
In a sterling performance that would be noticed around the world, rising Korean star Ben An Byeong-hun enjoyed his best European Tour result as he shot a 65 to lie 15-under, sharing fifth place with Gregory Bourdy (65) of France and young Argentine Emiliano Grillo (70).
World No. 2 Henrik Stenson, the top-ranked player in the field, carded a 66 to finish on 10-under and was joined by Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose (68), the World No. 5.
Former champion Els (71), the four-time Major champion, finished 8-under, while defending champion Sergio Garcia shot his third 69 of the week to finish four-under, with his title defence undone by a horrendous 77 on Friday.
Grace was a joint-leader after rounds two and three, then moved to 14-under after a birdie on his opening hole yesterday. After 10 straight easy pars, Grace shared the lead with five other players before making a move with slick birdies on holes 12 and 14.
The South African shared lead with Wiesberger and Warren before powering clear with a spectacular eagle on the 295-yard, par-four 16th, when he drove to six feet from the flag.
After a par on the short 17th, Grace laid up on the par-five 18th and nailed his third shot to six feet. While walking to the green, Grace became aware that Warren had birdied 16 and 17 to draw level on 18-under, so the South African was under pressure to sink a crucial birdie putt that ultimately secured the title.
“I started with a nice birdie and then the round didn’t go really my way, but I just stuck to my guns and made a couple of birdies. Making that eagle putt on 16 and par putt on 17 was key. On 18, the putt was actually a similar distance and similar break, and I told myself: ‘You just made one on 17, you can do it again,” Grace said. “You make it, you think you’re going to win, and if you miss, you know that pretty much you’re not going to win it. I had a nice putt, but then the wait starts and I watched the television as Marc finished his round.”
Grace started the week as World No.79 and was projected to return to the world’s top 50 after his latest success, putting him in contention for Majors and WGC events.
“These are the things that we need as golfers to push us to the next level – it’s just nice that I could do it at a place like this and in a special way like this,” Grace said. THE PENINSULA
“This morning, I woke up, I went through a little bit of the previous videos of when I won just to try to get me in the right frame of mind and it worked. It was a nice way to wake up.
“The Middle East is one of the places I’ve always wanted to win. I’ve thought my game suits these type of golf courses, and I play well when I come here.
“These are big now, so this is one of the wins that’s really putting me back on the map now. I think I’ll be in the top 50 or just outside (on the Official World Golf Ranking).
Branden Grace after winning the 2015 Qatar Masters
DOHA:Leading scores in Doha yesterday after the final round of the Qatar Masters:
269 Branden Grace (RSA) 67-68-68-66
270 Marc Warren (SCO) 71-65-67-67
271 Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 69-66-68-68
272 Eddie Pepperell (ENG) 69-71-65-67
273 An Byeong-Hun (KOR) 67-69-72-65, Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 67-69-67-70, Grégory Bourdy (FRA) 70-68-70-65
274 Alejandro Cañizares (ESP) 67-70-68-69
275 Alexander Norén (SWE) 67-71-72-65
276 Oliver Fisher (ENG) 65-73-69-69, Benjamin Hébert (FRA) 72-68-69-67
277 George Coetzee (RSA) 68-67-70-72
278 Justin Rose (ENG) 68-73-69-68, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 70-71-71-66, Magnus Carlsson (SWE) 71-69-70-68, Johan Carlsson (SWE) 74-65-69-70, Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 73-70-67-68, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 70-73-67-68
279 Anders Hansen (DEN) 71-69-70-69, Julien Quesne (FRA) 70-72-69-68, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 71-68-70-70, Seve Benson (ENG) 70-71-69-69
280 Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 73-65-74-68, Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 70-68-70-72, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 69-73-69-69, Ernie Els (RSA) 67-72-70-71, Darren Fichardt (RSA) 67-70-71-72, Felipe Aguilar (CHI) 71-68-72-69, Álvaro Quirós (ESP) 70-70-72-68
281 Ricardo González (ARG) 69-70-73-69, Michaël Lorenzo-Vera (FRA) 70-70-69-72, Ross Fisher (ENG) 70-70-73-68
282 Kristoffer Broberg (SWE) 67-71-72-72, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 71-70-70-71, Pablo Larrazábal (ESP) 71-71-67-73, Rafael Cabrera (ESP) 66-73-70-73, Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 68-75-72-67
283 Thomas Pieters (BEL) 73-68-68-74, Brett Rumford (AUS) 69-72-73-69, Richard Green (AUS) 70-67-76-70, Renato Paratore (ITA) 69-69-70-75, Shiv Kapur (IND) 70-68-72-73, Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 70-70-73-70, Thomas Aiken (RSA) 69-73-72-69, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 68-71-75-69
284 James Morrison (ENG) 68-70-75-71, Dawie Van der Walt (RSA) 72-69-70-73, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 70-68-73-73, Sergio García (ESP) 69-69-77-69, Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 71-68-73-72, Paul Lawrie (SCO) 67-73-73-71
285 Michael Hoey (NIR) 71-69-74-71, Edouard Espana (FRA) 70-73-70-72, Mark Foster (ENG) 67-73-70-75, Andrew Johnston (ENG) 69-73-72-71, Tom Lewis (ENG) 72-71-69-73, Jason Barnes (ENG) 72-70-72-71
286 Peter Uihlein (USA) 69-73-71-73, Damien McGrane (IRL) 68-72-74-72, Grégory Havret (FRA) 70-69-75-72, Eduardo De La Riva (ESP) 70-69-72-75
