Woods claims second Dubai victory

Tiger Woods proved his superiority in the world of golf by putting up a brilliant display to claim his second Dubai Desert Classic title at the Emirates Golf Club on Sunday evening.

Woods, who landed the Classic in 2006, went into the final day on seven-under-par with the three times winner Ernie Els as the overnight leader on 11-under-par.

After a fine drive down the 18th fairway, Woods smashed a five iron to the 18th green and was unfortunate to see his ball come to rest in the thick rough on the fringe of the bunker at the back of the sloping green.

With his feet planted awkwardly in the bunker, the 32 year old chipped his ball onto the downslope, but such was the delicate nature of the shot, his ball stopped some 25 feet from the hole. Not to be undone, the World Number One refocused and with one gentle tap of his putter, drained his birdie putt into the middle of the cup, sending the watching thousands in the packed grandstands into delirium.

“It was a pretty exciting final round,” smiled Woods

“On 18 I hit a really nice drive, turned it around the corner, and hit a 5 wood up there and just flushed it. I was trying to hit a high fade in there and hold up against the wind, and I thought I hit it perfect where it was going to be just past the hole and flew even further than I thought.

“Then I’m thinking it's a hard bunker shot, but really not that bad and I get down there and it's not in the bunker. And I'm thinking, I could easily chip the ball in the water. You have to make your mistake short and if I leave it too short just chip up and try to make a par and probably not going to win the tournament but see what happens. Got to the green, and put went in.”

Woods’ run of birdies saw him finish with a 14-under-par 274 giving him a one shot victory over the recent Abu Dhabi winner, the 23-year-old Martin Kaymer, who finished on 13-under-par.

Els was out of luck on the final few holes and finished the day in third place along with his fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen on 12-under-par.

Emirates has a great affinity with golf and the Dubai Desert Classic tees of a busy year of golf sponsorship for Emirates with a portfolio that includes the BMW International Open, BMW Asian Open, Malaysian Open, Africa Open, The Hong Kong Open, The Austrian Open, Volvo Asian Masters, Hero Honda Open, Australian PGA Championship and the Dubai Ladies Masters.