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Danny Willett keeps his nerve to win Dubai Desert Classic
Posted On Feb 07 2016
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Willett holed from 15 feet for a birdie on the 18th to card a closing 69 and finish 19 under par, one shot ahead of compatriot Andy Sullivan and playing partner Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
Sullivan and Cabrera-Bello refused to give in and each claimed a share of top spot at 18 under with birdies at the par-five 18th.
Willett has now put himself in a great position to qualify for Darren Clarke’s 2016 Ryder Cup squad while Sullivan and Cabrera-Bello have also increased their chances.
Spain’s Alvaro Quiros and South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun were joint fourth after carding final round 65s for a 16-under par total.
“But I did manage to outscore Rory by a shot on the back nine by making five birdies, three of them to finish off the tournament”. Some days you get lucky and some days you don’t.
Yet, world number 20 Willett headed down the 18th hole in the knowledge that a birdie would clinch him the title and he duly obliged.
Sullivan, who finished fourth in this event past year before again impressing in Dubai with a runner-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship in November, was Willett’s nearest rival for much of the final day.
“I kept the ball under fantastic control with some crosswinds, did everything right really”.
“I think mentally I feel like I’m very much in control of myself, which obviously helps”.
It was the fourth European Tour victory for Willett, who finished second in the Race to Dubai to Rory McIlroy past year.
But when it mattered the most – on the 18th hole – he hit a superb wedge third shot that spun back several yards and left him with a curling 12-feet birdie putt to get to 18-under par.
The win is expected to move Willett into the top-15 of the world rankings for the first time in his career.
Sullivan felt he did not do enough in the middle of the round and said: “Fair play to Dan, holing that putt, that was a tough putt”. I played the combined front-nine on 5-over par there and if I hadn’t have done that, things could have been different.
