Coming into the 2016 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, Branden Grace had won six European Tour titles, but never before had he managed to defend one. Nor had anyone done it in the $2.5 million European Tour event’s 18-year history.
Yesterday, on an unusually cold and windy day at the Doha Golf Club, in the event’s 19th edition, the long wait ended when Grace mastered the elements and his nerves to become the first to land back-to-back Qatar Masters titles.
The South African came into the final round two shots behind two-time champion Paul Lawrie, who too was chasing another piece of history in his bid to become the event’s first three-time champion.
But the 47-year-old Scot, after three days of consistent golf, suddenly saw his steady game desert him as he slipped to a 78 on a day when there were just four rounds under 70, while South African Grace, almost two decades younger to Lawrie, managed to hold off a chasing pack with a 69 for a 14-under total and win his seventh European Tour title by two shots from Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain and Denmark’s Thorbj?rn Olesen.
The Spaniard closed with three birdies as he finished in the top three for the third time in six years here, while a lengthy putt on the last moved Olesen into a share of second place.
They were followed by Wales pro Bradley Dredge, who finished with a four-birdie flourish to vault himself to 11-under alongside English duo Andrew Johnston and Lee Slattery.
“It feels like a dream… I am still pretty much at a loss for words. To win is tough, to defend even tougher.
“This is a tournament that kicked my season off last year and hopefully it can take me to even better things this time round.
“The key was my grinding and staying patient. It was tough out there, but fair. I knew if I stuck to my guns and tried to give myself some opportunities, I could do it,” an ecstatic Grace said.
The South African, who started and ended with birdies during his round of 69, never dropped a shot on the homeward nine this week, and it was the same tale in the final round too. Barring a sore bogey on the par-4 fifth, he managed two birdies each on the front and back, and that had a big say in the end.
“The key on this course is patience. There were times when I seemed to lose it a few times, but Zack, my caddie, has been tremendous. He kept me calm at all times. I did some work on the driving range before my tee-off, and that helped too,” the 27-year-old world No. 11 added.
Grace had spoken ahead of this tournament of his desire to break into the top 10 in the world, and yesterday’s win should help him reach that goal, as he now has top 10 finishes in each of his first five events of the season.
“It’s a big thing to come to a week defending. You’ve got a lot more pressure and a lot more things going on that week. And there’s no better place to do it than Qatar.
“It was really one of my biggest wins to date last year, and I think this is just going to push it up even higher. It’s all a big learning curve as your career goes on. I’ve learned a lot this week for myself, learned patience, and I’ve learned what it takes now to defend a title. It happened last year, but it feels long gone. So it’s great to be in the winner’s circle again,” a clearly overwhelmed Grace said.
It was a tale of contrasting fortunes for the two history-seekers, as like Grace, overnight leader Lawrie too birdied the first hole but then went on to drop four shots including a double bogey on the par-5 ninth to turn in at 39. Two more drops and another double bogey ended his campaign. He did manage a birdie on his penultimate hole, but it was too little too late as he ended with a forgettable six-over for the day to finish tied-13th.
On the other hand, Grace recovered from a bogey on the fifth with a further gain on the sixth. A brilliant approach shot on the tenth moved him two shots clear and though there was a late surge from the chasing pack, Grace stayed uncatchable, signing off with a birdie on his final hole to seal victory.
Olesen too held a share of the lead after Grace and Lawrie both dropped shots on the fifth but a bogey on the eighth and a run of nine straight pars ended his chances.
Cabrera-Bello, meanwhile, had been one over-par for the day as he stood on the 16th tee after a double-bogey on the eighth but a triple birdie finish helped him end a creditable second, along with Olesen.
Dredge too was one over for the day before four gains on the trot got him a tied fourth spot alongside Johnston and Slattery, who both signed for 70s with four birdies and two bogeys each.
Richard Bland, George Coetzee, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Ricardo Gouveia and Louis Oosthuzen ended eight under, one ahead of Lawrie who came home in 39.