Slow Sunday for the Irish in Ras as Gavins makes double of his life to win

Ronan MacNamara
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Daniel Gavins - Getty Images

Ronan MacNamara

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Pádraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin both endured mixed bags in their final rounds as they finished back in the pack at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra Golf Club.

Harrington finished in a share of 25th on eight-under while McKibbin was two shots further back in 36th place.

Neither were ever going to play a part in the drama that unfolded as Daniel Gavins somehow managed to hold on and claim a second DP World Tour title.

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There are double bogeys then there are great double bogeys. Having marched onto the 18th tee with a two-shot lead, the Englishman did his level best to throw his chances away by finding the water twice – once off the tee and then with his fourth shot from the fairway.

Gavins dropped beside the green and still had 26 feet left for a closing seven after a relatively average pitch. He holed it to sign for a sensational 69 and set the clubhouse lead on seventeen-under after Alexander Bjork had bogeyed the 18th before him to drop to -16.

South Africa’s Zander Lombard needed an eagle on 18 to force a playoff but his 23-foot effort went wide meaning Gavins could breathe a sigh of relief.

They say all great rounds start with a bogey and after the 31-year-old opened with a dropped shot he stormed into the lead with six birdies in seven holes before bogeys on 9 and 12 gave the chasing pack hope.

Birdies on 14 and 15 gave him a two shot cushion to take down 18 before Bjork bogeyed.

“I feel speechless, to be honest. I just want to quickly thank my mum and dad – I forgot to thank them last time when I won!

“They’ve been great for me and they’ve supported me throughout my career, so massive thanks to those two, and especially my girlfriend as well.

“I’ve been struggling off the tee for the last two weeks and it’s not a very nice tee-shot to have, even with a two-shot lead.

“It was a difficult hole to get through and fortunately I holed a 30-footer.

“To be fair, I thought I was holing that for the play-off! I didn’t realise Björk had made a bogey.

“I thought I had (given the tournament away). I put two in the water and thought ‘Well that’s one way to end the tournament really’.

“When I sunk the putt and then went to the back of the green and saw that I was actually winning still, it was kind of a big shock!”

From an Irish point of view it was a case of the good, the bad and the ugly for Harrington who didn’t get the momentum he was looking for from his final round.

The 51-year-old started well again, easing to three-under through eight holes before successive double bogeys dropped him over par for the round. Three birdies and a bogey in his last six holes salvaged Harrington a 71.

McKibbin dropped four shots in his last six holes to card a 74 for a six-under total.

It had been a mixed bag before that for the 20-year-old who had carded four birdies and a brace of bogeys with his birdies coming at the third, fifth, seventh and twelfth.

Next up for McKibbin is the Singapore Classic.

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