Commercialbank Qatar Masters concludes with Paul Lawrie at the top: Recap-Last part
Daly has won two major titles in his career, the 1995 Open Championship and the 1991 PGA Championship.
Owing to his downfall from glory, Daly does not have a full playing status either on PGA or the European Tour and relies mostly on sponsor’s exemption to participate in mainstream events.
No fewer than four players settled for the fifth spot including the two-time winner in 2011 Sergio Garcia, Ricardo Gonzalez, Soren Hansen and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet with an aggregate score of eight-under, 208.
Coming from behind on the final day, Garcia pulled in consecutive birdies on the front and shot right into contention, threatening the aspiring winners on the final day.
He sank four birdies on the front and another two on the opening holes of the back until he dropped two shots to conclude the 18-hole stretch.
World number four, Martin Kaymer, is still under shock for missing the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, an event he has won thrice in last four years.
The lanky German has lost the Abu Dhabi event just once in the last four years, finishing runner-up behind the winner.
Known as the undisputed king of Abu Dhabi, Kaymer missed the cut at this year’s event, triggering rumours that he has lost his form at the start of the season and is likely to fall out of the top-ten in a few months time.
He went over to Qatar, hoping to make a turn for the better, ending up with another humble finish, a joint ninth.
Although, it may indicate a remarkable comeback from a missed halfway cut to a top-ten finish, Kaymer knows there is still lot to do to sustain his rankings in the rest of the year.
Starting from one-under on the opening round, Kaymer gradually regained composure in the following rounds finishing for a two-under on the second day and an even better four-under on the final. He did not drop a single shot in his last 36-hole stretch.
World number three Lee Westwood also experienced a gradual surge in his performance in the event, carding rounds of one-under, two-under and three-under in the three-day event.
His final round included seven birdies and four bogeys, finishing for a joint 12th.
Dane Thomas Bjorn, winner of the season-opener Qatar Masters in 2011, finished for a joint 25th, after he failed to make up for his disastrous loss on the opening day.
Bjorn fell for a terrible double-bogey five on par-three and a triple-bogey seven on par-four, 12th to close the opening day with a seven-over.
He performed well on the last two days, pulling in rounds of 65 and 68 but was never able to completely come out of his first round disaster.
European Tour will now move to its third leg of the event in Middle East, the Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai, UAE, featuring top-ranked European players on the field.
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