Swashbuckling Spaniard Alvaro Quiros comfortably won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, Presented by Dolphin Energy, thanks to a final round 69 (-3) at Doha Golf Club.
With a final total of nineteen under par, Quiros romped to a three-shot win over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa despite trailing the Swede with just nine holes remaining.
But a birdie on the ninth got him level with Stenson before birdies on the 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th holes saw him ease back into the lead and guarantee a win that secured a place in the world’s top 30 and the winner’s cheque for $416,660.
“At the beginning of the year, I was just trying to get into the top 50 in the world,” said the 26 year-old – who celebrated his third European Tour win by jumping into the lake on the 18th green – after receiving the trophy from Hassan Al Nuaimi, President of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA) and Commercialbank Group CEO Andrew Stevens.
“I have to be honest, the best thing about this win is how I handled my mental game in the last round. On the fifteenth green I saw the leaderboard for the first time and I saw I had a putt of six metres to stay at the top so that was kind of nerve-wracking! But it all worked out and this win has given me the last push to the Majors.”
For Stenson, it was a case of what might have been after finishing runner-up for the second year in a row.
“It was a good day - Alvaro obviously kicked in some good birdies here and there and I had some chances,” said Stenson. “It doesn't feel good if you three putt the last but still I had to give it a go. My only chance to force a playoff was to make a birdie on the last, depending on what Alvaro was going to do. I'm still happy with my performance here and it's been another good week in Qatar.”
Stenson shared second place with South African Oosthuizen who found himself runner-up for the second week running after losing out by one shot to Paul Casey in Abu Dhabi.
“I think today's round was the only one the 70s in my last eight rounds,” said Oosthuizen after carding a 71 (-1). “I don't feel like I was swinging it too great today and I missed a lot of putts but hat's off to Alvaro. He made some unbelievable putts on 15, 16 and 17. That's great stuff for him and he's a good player as well so well done for him.”
While the best round of the day – a 66 (-6) – came from England’s Simon Dyson to secure a share of seventh place with world no.2 Sergio Garcia on eleven under par, defending champion Adam Scott finally saw his winning run in Qatar end back in a tie for 21st place with a final round 67 (-5).
But former champions Stenson and Scott could only look on and admire as the European Tour looks set for another Spanish star in the shape of Quiros who remained unaffected by his sudden rise to prominence. “I’ll go to the Masters at Augusta to enjoy myself,” smiled the man from Cadiz. “As for the Ryder Cup in 2010, I’m not even thinking that far ahead!”
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