Arjun Atwal held his nerve to hole an up-and-down for a birdie on the 72nd hole and end a four-year title drought as he won the inaugural US$500,000 Dubai Open at the Els Club on Sunday.
Atwal won his first and only title on the PGA Tour in 2010, and his last success on the Asian Tour came in 2008.
On ending a long wait, he said: “It is as good (as the PGA Tour win). It is a great feeling because the way things went in the last two years, I didn’t think I would play again.”
Playing on his fifth straight invite this week, after losing status on the PGA Tour, the 41-year-old carded a final round of six-under 66 with eight birdies and two bogeys to total 16-under 272, pushing 19-year-old Korean Wang Jeung-hun (67) to second place.
Meanwhile, Shiv Kapur, who had a share of the four-way overnight lead, crumbled to a final round of even par 72 with three birdies and three bogeys to drop to tied 11th along with Gaganjeet Bhullar (71).