World Golf News - 08 February 2011

On the European Tour, which continues its sunny Middle Eastern leg while the continent battles frosty weather, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark was victorious at the Qatar Masters on Sunday. In a tournament that saw Bjorn on top form from day one, the Dane kept his head in the final round to score a decisive victory, with Alvaro Quiros of Spain in second place. The Spaniard had mounted a brief charge for the trophy earlier on Sunday, but Bjorn’s consistency soon put stop to any attempts to dethrone him. Bjorn is no stranger to victory in the sands of the Middle East, having won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2001.

In the United States the Phoenix Open in Arizona was won by American Mark Wilson. In a sudden-death playoff that was extended to Monday, Wilson won the second hole to beat compatriot Jason Dufner to the title. Poor light conditions had forced play to be abandoned on Sunday, prompting an extension of the tournament. After finishing the first playoff hole at TPC Scottsdale level-pegging, Wilson birdied the second hole to claim victory. This is Wilson’s second victory of a very new season, having won the Sony Open in Hawaii on January 16th. This victory has propelled Wilson to number fifty-one in the world golf rankings, and like Thomas Bjorn he has secured a place in the WGC-Accenture Matchplay in a week’s time.

In Women’s golf, the much awaited Australian Open was won by Yani Tseng of Taiwan, beating a group of competitors to clinch a hard-won but impressive seven stroke victory. Second place went to Ji Eun-He and Jiyai Shin of South Korea, and Mellisa Reid of the UK. Jennifer Song was the only American in contention, and had to settle eventually for third place.