DUBAI: England’s Paul Casey conjured up a birdie-eagle finish to seize control of the Dubai Desert Classic after Saturday’s third round.
His bogey free 64 put him top of the leaderboard going into the final day, one shot clear of Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.
South African Brandon Stone was one shot further back at 13 under in third, three shots clear of Sergio Garcia, who won in Dubai in 2017, and Casey’s fellow Englishman Laurie Canter.
Casey, who had begun the day three shy of the lead, is targeting a 15th European Tour win on Sunday at an event he described as “iconic.”
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Paul Casey (file pic) won the Dubai Desert Classic.
Image: Tom Hauck
Image: Tom Hauck
ENGLAND’S PAUL CASEY made a triumphant return after a 14-month absence to win the Dubai Desert Classic by four shots.
The 43-year-old managed to make his way around a rock-hard Emirates Golf Club in two-under par 70 to finish on 17-under par 271 for the tournament.
South African Brandon Stone (72) finished in second at 13-under par as Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre paid the price of four successive bogeys around the turn for a 74 and solo third place at 12-under par 276.
After rubbish 2020, Casey makes winning return in Dubai
Issued on: 3 min
Dubai (AFP)
Paul Casey made a triumphant return to the European Tour on Sunday after 14 months, when he won the Dubai Desert Classic by four shots on a difficult scoring day.
The 43-year-old Englishman navigated the rock-hard greens of Emirates Golf Club in two-under-par 70 in the final round to finish on 17-under par for the tournament.
It was Casey s 15th title on the European Tour, but the first since the 2019 European Open which was also his last tournament victory anywhere.
Despite tying for second in the PGA Championship, he did not win a tournament last season and dropped out of the world top 20.
09:58 EDT, 30 January 2021
Paul Casey put himself in pole position to boost his Ryder Cup ambitions as a birdie-eagle finish handed him a one-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The Englishman admitted this week that making a fifth appearance for Europe later this year is at the forefront of his mind, and he carded a bogey-free 64 on day three to get to 15 under par and sit a shot ahead of another Ryder Cup hopeful in Scot Robert MacIntyre.
With no world qualification points available in events played opposite the European Tour’s Rolex Series tournaments, Casey has not accrued any points since the race restarted on January 1 despite last week’s top 10 at The American Express on the PGA Tour.