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ABU DHABI, Jan 22: American Chris DiMarco, playing in his first ever regular European Tour event won the first-ever Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on Sunday in impressive style. DiMarco closed with a five-under 67 to finish one shot ahead of third round leader Henrik Stenson.
The win was worth 333,330 dollars to the 35-year-old who had not won since 2002.
DiMarco began the day one behind Stenson but a birdie eagle start jumped him into a two shot lead with the Swede opening with back-to-back pars.
Despite charges from Stenson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Sergio Garcia and Ricardo Gonzalez the American refused to crack as the swirling desert wind made conditions difficult.
With his lead having been cut to one, DiMarco gave himself breathing space with a birdie on 16 to go back to two in front and only two holes to go.
A par-par finish despite a last hole birdie from Stenson was enough to put him back in the winners circle.
The only drawback for DiMarco is that his prize money does not count on the US Money list as it was a European Tour tournament.
Leading final scores:
268 - Chris DiMarco 71-67-63-67
269 - Henrik Stenson 69-69-62-69
270 - Sergio Garcia 70-69-65-66
271 - Ricardo Gonzalez 68-68-67-68
273 - Miguel Angel Jimenez 70-68-64-71
275 - Jyoti Randhawa 71-70-69-65, Colin Montgomerie 72-68-65-70
277 - Vijay Singh 68-70-69-70, Charl Schwartzel 69-66-68-74
278 - Ian Poulter 72-69-68-69, David Lynn 69-69-70-70
279 - Zhang Lian-Wei 74-69-68-68, Thongchai Jaidee 68-69-73-69, Andrew McLardy, 71-70-69-69, Mark Foster 71-70-69-69, Francois Delamontaigne 71-69-69-70
280 - Paul Broadhurst 73-71-68-68, Darren Fichardt 72-70-69-69, Damien McGrane 70-69-71-70
Campbell clings to lead
PALM DESERT (California): Chad Campbell fired his fourth straight round in the 60s on Saturday but saw his lead dwindle to one stroke over Scott Verplank with one round to play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Campbell, who started the day with four-shot cushion, carded a five-under-par 67 for a 24-under total of 264, with Verplank one back after a 64.
Campbell played the Classic Club, considered the toughest of the four courses in the tournament’s rotation, and even though he had only played one practice round at the new facility, managed to keep his lead.
Leading fourth-round scores:
264 - Chad Campbell 63-66-68-67
265 - Scott Verplank 68-68-65-64
268 - John Senden 70-63-68-67
270 - Phil Mickelson 66-69-68-67, Justin Rose 70-70-64-66
271 - Olin Browne 65-69-71-66, John Huston 65-71-68-67, Jeff Maggert 67-71-69-64, Jesper Parnevik 69-69-71-62, Rory Sabbatini 71-68-68-64, Mike Weir 67-69-69-66
272 - Shane Bertsch 70-68-66-68, Steve Elkington 64-70-71-67, Brandt Jobe 72-68-68-64, Bernhard Langer 70-70-67-65, Billy Mayfair 68-70-68-66, Ryan Palmer 70-69-67-66.—Agencies
