Westwood Rolls to Dubai Title

Lee Westwood continued his outstanding play in the European Tour's final - and richest - event of the year. The Englishman carded an 8-under 64 to win the inaugural Dubai World Championship going away.

The 36-year-old Brit earned $2.75 million in all, $1.25 million for the tournament and a $1.5 million bonus for the season-long Race to Dubai, which goes to the European Tour's Order of Merit winner.

It was Westwood's second Order of Merit; he also won the player-of-the-year honor in 2000.

The 64 was one stroke lower than the record set by Robert Allenby in the opening round on the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Westwood finished at 23-under 265, six shots ahead of fellow Englishman Ross McGowan, who closed with a 4-under 68.

Needless to say, Westwood was pleased with his performance, one in which he carded only two bogeys over 72 holes and went 14-under par over his final two rounds. "It felt pretty good I have to say. It's hard to imagine playing better, getting the breaks when you need them, and I didn't think I'd feel so calm out there," he said.

"I think I learned a lot from my [British] Open experience (where he three-putted the last hole to miss out on the playoffs by one shot) and tried to put it into practice today, and it paid off."

Rory McIlroy, who led the Race to Dubai going into the season-ender, closed with a 67 to finish third at 15-under 273.

Ogilvy (67) and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington (68) ended up tied for fourth at 14-under 274, while Sweden's Alexander Noren was sixth at 275.

Westwood was also excited about how the European Tour's final event turned out. "If you ever wanted a tournament to burst on to the scene and have your first one out, that's probably as good as it gets out there. You've got the Race to Dubai and the two people that are sort of in the frame for winning it coming down the stretch; you probably couldn't get any better.

"I think Dubai and the golf course and the European Tour have come out of it looking fantastic. I think it's a great effort for golf in this region. I think it's a great advert for golf on the European Tour. It shows the quality of the players that we have on this tour."

The tournament attracted 58,000 people over four days, with more than 15,000 attending the final round.

As the winner of the Dubai World Championship, Westwood - in addition to the cash - was presented with a 38-inch-long, 16-pound, solid-silver baton designed by Asprey of London. The baton, which took 400 hours to make, will be displayed to the public once the Club at Jumeirah Golf Estates opens.

('DiggThis’) submit to reddit