Sergio Garcia defeated Mikko Ilonen on the third hole of sudden-death to win the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after a dramatic and enthralling final round in Doha.
The Spaniard, who turned 34 a fortnight ago, shot a stunning seven-under round of 65 to reach 16-under for the tournament, but missed an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th to clinch victory outright. 2000 Amateur Championship winner Mikko Ilonen would then make birdies on the 16th and 18th to complete a 66 and join the six-time Ryder Cup participant at the summit.
It was a playoff packed with quality, and both players reached the par five 18th in two shots. Ilonen and Garcia would both miss their attempts for eagle, trading birdies, and returning back to the tee once again.
This time, Ilonen would once again miss an attempt for eagle, but looked to have held the advantage with Garcia in the greenside bunker. However, the former Players Champion would produce a bunker shot of the utmost quality to make an up-and-down to keep the playoff alive.
However, the third visit back to the tee would prove to be the final one. Ilonen found the same bunker that his opponent had just escaped from, but unlike the Spaniard he would not be able to make birdie, allowing Garcia to simply tap-in for birdie to clinch his 11th European Tour victory.
“It feels good,” said Garcia, who wins for the first time in Europe since 2011, and will move inside the World’s Top 10 when the latest rankings are released on Monday.
Last year, Garcia had shot through the field in the final round, only to be denied by Chris Wood’s triumphant closing eagle on the 18th. A year on, memories of that day were still in the forefront of his mind.
“It's funny because I started the day thinking if I can shoot six or seven under maybe I can have a chance, and it turns out I had a very similar putt that I had last year to get it to 17 under on 18; I hit a good putt and unfortunately it didn't break.
“The up and down from the bunker in the playoff was key and I'm very happy to be able to win it.”
It was the seventh playoff on the European Tour for Garcia, with this being his third successful effort. “I almost feel less pressure (in a playoff) because you feel like you've had a great week already and if you win it's kind of like a little bit of a bonus.
“It's been an amazing week already and I was definitely more nervous on my tee shot on the 18th (in regulation) than in the playoff. That's probably why I hit three better tee shots.”
Garcia has had an impressive record at Doha Golf Club, and he was delighted to finally clinch the title. “I have always said it's a golf course that I enjoy and I am very pleased to finally be able to get my hands on the trophy. We've been coming here for eight years and have been quite close to winning before.”
Mikko Ilonen, who claim his third European Tour win last year, was naturally disappointed not to have won, but he reflected on what had been a positive week.
“I was expecting one of us would need to make an eagle to win it,” the 34-year-old said.
“I hit two poor bunker shots out of the same front right-hand trap, one in regulation and one in the play-off, and I'm not going to blame anything else.
“I came up two short of my target in regulation, I thought 64 would do it outright, and Sergio was a bit better than me this time.
“I needed a strong start and I got it being four under through eight, and I backed it up with a good end to the round with three birdies in the last five. I played good golf this week so I can't be too disappointed.”
Thorbjorn Olesen had an opportunity to join the playoff, but his eagle attempt from 15-feet on the 18th missed leaving him in a tie for third alongside joint-54-hole leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello. Steve Webster, who started the week with an albatross, shared the lead coming into the final round, but finished in a tie for fifth at 14-under alongside Alejandro Canizares, George Coetzee and Thomas Aiken.
In the end, it was Sergio’s week. At the age of 34, there is still time for the supremely gifted Spaniard to embark on the sort of career that many expected him to have when he emerged in 1999. It should be remembered that Phil Mickelson didn’t win a major until he was two months shy of his 34th birthday, so there is time for Garcia – if he truly believes it.
His temperament has often been called into question, but not this week in Qatar, with Spain going for a clean-sweep of Middle East victories next week in Dubai.