Woods Flops Again As Quiros Shines

The bookies never saw him coming until it was all done and dusted but Alvaro Quiros snuck away with the Dubai Desert Classic trophy. A dramatic final round hole-in-one proved the difference for the Spaniard as he saw off such luminaries as Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Rory McIllroy to win by one, on 11 under par. The win lifts Quiros to the top of the European money list.

The upset looked a long way off when Quiroz carded a triple-bogey on the eighth hole after his ball got lost up a palm tree. But the ridiculous swiftly gave way to the sublime when the 28-year-old holed with his wedge on the 11th tee. A few more moments like that and the 100/1 price that 888sport continue to offer on Quiroz winning the US Masters in April may draw interest.

It was another Sunday to forget for Tiger Woods who closed with a disappointing 75 before being handed a fine for spitting that breached the European Tour’s code of conduct. Yet the bookies remain unmoved where Augusta is concerned and the 14-time major winner remains favourite at 11/2 with VictorChandler.

Rory McIlroy was another big name to falter down the stretch in Dubai but it was still a good week for the young Irishman and at 22/1 with Coral he looks worthy of consideration for the Masters.