USA TODAY International Edition
PGA European Tour
Lawrie cruises in Qatar Open
DOHA, Qatar — Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie chipped in for an eagle and a birdie on his way to winning the wind- shortened Qatar Open on Sunday, shooting 7under- par 65 to hold off Jason Day and Peter Hanson.
Lawrie finished with a 15under 201 to win his seventh European Tour event and his second in Qatar. Day ( 65) and Hanson ( 67) tied for second, four strokes back.
The victory was Lawrie’s second in a year — he won the Andalucian Open in March — after a nine- year drought. Now in the top 45, he could contend for a spot in the 2012 Ryder Cup.
“I played lovely all week. But today I think tee to green, apart from my tee shot on 10th, I can’t play much better than that,” said Lawrie, who also won the tournament in 1999. “I actually felt I left three or four putts out there and got it around to 7 under on a golf course where the greens were pretty firm.”
Lawrie came into the final round with a one- shot lead on Nicolas Colsaerts. The 1999 British Open champion started slowly, with one birdie on his first eight holes. But just as several players, including Sergio Garcia ( 68), were challenging for the lead, Lawrie sank a 20yard chip for eagle on the ninth hole to go up by two.
Day and Garcia continued their charge, but Lawrie recorded four birdies on a flawless back nine that included clutch birdie putts on 11 and 14.
And when Hanson chipped in for eagle on 16 to pull within three, Lawrie responded with chip in for birdie on 17. He played it safe on No. 18 and closed out with a short par putt for the win.
Early on, it looked as if Garcia might overtake Lawrie for the win. The Spaniard opened with six birdies on his first 11 holes, including one on 10 that moved him into a tie for the lead with Lawrie.
But Garcia’s putter went cold on the back nine, starting when he missed a 2- footer for par on 13. Clearly flustered, Garcia then missed a 10- footer for birdie at the next hole. He took himself out of contention when he bogeyed the next hole and finished tied for fifth.
Day also started strong in the final round, with four birdies on his first four holes to move up the leaderboard. The 23- yearold Australian bogeyed nine, but he bounced back with four consecutive birdies to close within two shots of the lead. But he missed birdie putts on 15 and 17.
Hanson, who came into the final round two shots back, quietly made a move when he ran off two birdies to finish the front nine. He stumbled with a bogey on 13 only to recover with a birdie on 14 and a chip in for eagle on 16.
First- round leader John Daly ( 67) finished fourth at 9 under, with Garcia, Jean- Baptiste Gonnet ( 65), Ricardo Gonzalez ( 70) and Soren Hansen ( 66) another shot back in a tie for fifth.
The tournament was disrupted by wind all week, and organizers called off Friday’s play and shortened the event to three rounds. Conditions improved Saturday and were calm Sunday.