Lahiri finishes in Top-20 as Spaniard Garcia stays firm to win Desert Classic

An eagle putt from more than a hundred feet on the 18th, his ninth hole of the day, had Anirban Lahiri laughing at the Golfing Gods on a day when he shot his bets card of the week four-under 68 to finish Tied-19th at Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

The 18th brought contrasting emotions and results for Lahiri, who eagled it in the first round, triple bogeyed in the second, birdied it in the third and eagled on Sunday.

Amateur Rayhan Thomas gave a great account of himself as he made the cut and finished T-60, no mean effort for a 17-year-old.

At the top, Sergio Garcia (69) was bogey free in the final round and did not falter from the pole position he had acquired at the end of the first

round and held it through literal darkness on Saturday and stood firm on Sunday to complete a dominant three-shot win over Henrik Stenson (69).

Dane Lasse Jensen (65) had the best card of the day and he tied for third with Tyrell Hatton (67) at 14-under. They were two shots clear of Matthew Fitzpatrick (67) and Peter Uihlein (69).

Lahiri was blunt in his assessment of the week, saying, "It was disappointing. I had 16 birdies and two eagles, but I was only six-under. The final round was fine, but the damage had been done in the first three rounds, when I gave away too many shots. Take away a few of them and I should have at least been in double digits (under par)" At 10-under par, Lahiri would have been in Top-10.

Still maintaining his sense of humour, he said, "That putt from 100 feet, or maybe more, was too much. Especially coming as it did after the second round, when I triple bogeyed after hitting a 7-Iron for my second shot. So, for four days I was two-under for the 18th, and there were two eagles in it."

He added, "The Iron play was not up to my standards and my coach, Vijay Divecha is coming next week, so we will have a look at that. I drove well and this week the par-5s saved me."

Rayhan Thomas was elated with his performance, saying, "It was an amazing experience. To make the weekend in this field was fabulous. I got the birdies alright, 18 in all. But I need to tighten up and not drop as many as I did. Overall, a superb experience."

At no stage in the tournament did Garcia look vulnerable. From the brilliant 65 on the first day to the truncated and gloomy second day, when

Tiger Woods withdrew to spasms, Garcia never wavered. After Woods' exited even before the cut, Garcia was back in focus and opened a three-

shot lead at the halfway stage. 

The best came in darkness, when Garcia and his playing partners, putted out the 18th for birdies in the third round in total darkness.

The lead of three after 36 holes stayed as such after the third round and remained the same till the end, when he holed his 12-footer for a final par.