The Qatar Masters ended in dramatic style with a three hole play-off between Sergio Garcia and Mikko Ilonen.
Garcia managed to get in the clubhouse at 16 under par after a late surge for the second year running to post a 65 which included a missed 8 foot putt on the last which had left the door just slightly a-jar.
He looked certain to claim victory until Ilonen managed to hole a 20 foot putt on the 18th to force extra holes. A very similar situation to 12 months ago when Garcia and George Coetzee lost in a play-off to England’s Chris Wood.
So off they went back down the 18th which they both birdied without any fuss, but the second time around Garcia found trouble in the right greenside bunker after Ilonen had found the green in two, but a wonderful bunker from Garcia left him with no more than a tap in to halve the hole in four.
As the light was fading and so was the temperature you felt this was going to be the last hole available to play, Ilonen found the right hand bunker in two shots but his slight over hit shot left him with a tricky 20 foot putt down the hill which he failed to convert leaving Garcia with a simple tap in for victory.
A great finish to what was a great event to watch and which never seems to disappoint.
Next we’re onto the Dubai Desert Classic where we will see a lot of the worlds top 20 competing including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
