Kaymer wins duel in the sun

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January 24, 2010

Martin Kaymer won a thrilling duel in the sun with Ian Poulter on Sunday to claim his second Abu Dhabi Championship.

Martin Kaymer won his thrilling duel in the sun with Ian Poulter on Sunday to claim his second Abu Dhabi Championship.
Poulter and Kaymer were locked together on 20-under with chasing Roy McIlroy just a shot back when the trio teed off at the last, a demanding par-five hole which needed a good drive by all of them to go for the green in two.
Kaymer crucially found the centre of the fairway, but Poulter pushed his drive into the left rough.
In the meantime, their other playing partner, McIlroy, went into even deeper rough on the right that virtually killed his chances of making the eagle that would give him an outside chance of winning.
Their positions made a second shot at the green too much of a gamble and both laid up.
Kaymer found the green with his second shot as he had planned and then rolled his first putt to within three feet of the pin to leave Poulter with a putt of at least 20 feet and McIlroy with a tough effort that had to negotiate different levels of the green.
Despite his putting being the highlight of an outstanding week, Poulter missed this time, his birdie attempt just shaving the hole left.
McIlroy didn’t really get close from half that distance and that left Kaymer needing to to hold his nerve and tap in for birdie to land a fifth European Tour title after winning his first at Abu Dhabi Golf Club two years earlier.
No sweat. He did it without a flicker of emotion before traditionally shooting a winners fist in the air – ironically having triumphed with a 21-under, the same winning total he finished with two years ago
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who finished tied second with Kaymer 12 months ago, dropped his only shot of a final round 66 at the last to finish alone in fifth at 16 under.
Argentina’s Ariel Canete posted a day’s best eight-under-par 64 to secured sixth place alongside Welshman Rhys Davies (67), with the Danish duo of Anders Hansen (67) and Soren Hansen (67) rounding out the top 10 in a tie for eighth that was six shots adrift.
More follows……

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