DUBAI - Tiger Woods claimed his second victory in successive weeks when he parred the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with holder Ernie Els at the Dubai Desert Classic today.
The world number one, who also won the Buick Invitational in San Diego last week in his first tournament
of the season, carded a regulation five at the 18th while South African Els took a bogey after finding water with his second shot.
Woods (69) and Els (67) had finished the regulation 72 holes on 19-under-par 269.
Australian Robert Green, the 1997 champion, took third place after returning a closing 68 for 270. Anders Hansen of Denmark, who had shared the overnight lead with Woods, was joint fourth with Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez on 271.
American Woods said he was not at his best in the final round.
"I struggled pretty bad at the start," he told Sky Sports. "I figured I had to do something, hang in there with my short game if I could, and somehow find a golf swing.
"Toward the end it was a lot better."
Asked what was wrong with his swing, he said: "It's easier to say what wasn't wrong. I had a two-way miss going on out there and that's not a fun way to play the final round of a championship.
"I tried to somehow just eliminate one side of the fairway. I was hitting nothing but a sweeping hook or a duck slice."
The 30-year-old Woods had two bogeys in his first six holes but caught up with Els, who was bidding for a record fourth Dubai Classic title, with birdies at the 17th and 18th.
"It is very satisfying when you are able to turn things around. I was missing it both ways in the front nine and then managed to fix it on the back nine," added Woods, who superbly saved par at the 14th when he drained a 15-foot putt after retrieving the ball which had got lodged in rocks.
"That was the most crucial scramble. There was a rock jutting out right in front of my ball and I had to use a sand wedge to go over it. With Els and Green one ahead of me and the easy 17th and 18th coming up, it would have made things difficult for me if I had fallen two behind on that hole."
South African Retief Goosen, the world number three, finished in sixth place on 272 after a final-round 71.
Swede Henrik Stenson, last week's Qatar Masters winner, was a further stroke back alongside Briton Darren Clarke.
- REUTERS
DUBAI - Tiger Woods claimed his second victory in successive weeks when he parred the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with holder Ernie Els at the Dubai Desert Classic today.
The world number one, who also won the Buick Invitational in San Diego last week in his first tournament
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