France's Antoine Rozner secured his maiden European Tour title with a two-shot win at the Golf in Dubai Championship; Matt Wallace and overnight leader Andy Sullivan among the four players finishing tied-second
Saturday 5 December 2020 11:37, UK
Antoine Rozner secured a maiden European Tour title with a thrilling two-stroke victory at the Golf in Dubai Championship.
The world No 204 carded an eight-under 64 on the Fire Course at Jumeriah Golf Estates, with a tap-in birdie at the par-five last setting the clubhouse target at 25 under.
Overnight leader Andy Sullivan required a final-hole eagle to force a play-off with the Frenchman but could only make a closing par, leaving him tied-second alongside Matt Wallace, Francesco Laporta and Mike Lorenzo-Vera.
Starting the final round four strokes back, Rozner opened with four straight pars before following a two-putt birdie at the fifth with a tap-in after the seventh having missed his eight-footer for eagle.
Rozner rolled in a 10-footer at the ninth for the first of three straight birdies and moved ahead of Sullivan for the first time with a stunning ten-foot eagle at the par-five 13th.
The Frenchman bounced back from a bogey at the 15th to nudge in from close-range at the 16th, where Sullivan - playing in the group ahead - carded a three-putt bogey to drop back to 23 under.
Rozner then made a two-putt birdie from 25 feet at the par-five last to extend his advantage, with Sullivan - needing a hole-out from the bunker at the 18th to extend the contest - finishing his final-round 69 with a two-putt par.
Sullivan had led after all three rounds and let a two-shot advantage slip on the back nine to finish in the share of second, with Wallace also in that group after closing a four-under 68 with five birdies in his final seven holes.
Laporta birdied his last four holes to sign for a five-under 66 and Lorenzo-Vera also got to 23 under with a bogey-free 65, while Scotland's Grant Forrest fired a round-of-the-day 63 to end the week in sixth spot.
The event was the first of back-to-back tournaments in Dubai to end the 2020 European Tour campaign, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship live from December 10-13 on Sky Sports Golf.
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