Doha - Arabstoday
Paul Lawrie stroked a fluent 65 to win the Qatar Masters for the second time with a four-shot win over Jason Day and Peter Hanson at the Doha Golf Club on Sunday.The Scotsman produced a bogey-free third round in the truncated tournament as the chasing pack made crucial errors to win his seventh European Tour title with an aggregate of 15-under 201 for 54 holes.Lawrie’s first win in Qatar came in 1999, the same year he claimed the British Open at Carnoustie.Holding a one-shot lead after the second round on Saturday, Lawrie struck a brilliant eagle on the 639-yard par-five ninth hole, giving him a two shot cushion over Day, who began with four consecutive birdies but dropped two shots by the time he finished his first nine holes.Lawrie calmly went along picking shots and by the time he birdied the 16th and 17th holes he had the Mother of Pearl trophy firmly in his grip.The 43-year-old Scot then parred the 18th to complete the formalities.Day was on fire on the back nine too, picking up four straight birdies from the 10th to 13, but could only par the next four to lose steam.He was with an eagle chance on the 18th but missed by a whisker, the birdie giving him an aggregate of 11 under.Hanson needed an eagle on the final hole to overtake Day, but finished with a birdie for a second-place tie with the Australian. John Daly finished two shots down for fourth.