FINAL ROUND LEADERBOARD:
-15 R Karlsson (Swe) -12 A Quiros (Spa) -11 L Westwood (Eng), B Rumford (Aus) -8 O Wilson (Eng), P Casey (Eng), B Dredge (Wal)
Selected others: -7 T Bjorn (Den) -6 Pe Lawrie (Ire) -5 N Dougherty (Eng), G McDowell (NIre) -3 S Garcia (Spa)



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Karlsson missed four months of last season with an eye problem
Sweden's Robert Karlsson fired a final-round bogey-free 65 to claim a three-shot victory in the Qatar Masters.

The European Ryder Cup star held off defending champion Alvaro Quiros (67) of Spain to finish 15 under in Doha.

Australian Brett Rumford (69) and England's Lee Westwood (70) ended 11 under as overnight leaders Paul Casey and Bradley Dredge slipped back.

England's Casey carded 74 to end eight under, the same mark as Welshman Dredge as Karlsson overhauled a two-shot lead.

The 40-year-old, who in 2008 became the first Swedish player to be named European number one, missed four months of last season after suffering from blurred vision caused by fluid behind the retina in his left eye.


Bad luck for Lee Westwood, he played some great golf this week and battled hard, he wasn't far off taking this one down

BeTheBall
"It was a tough time coming back," said Karlsson, who won the last of his nine other professional victories at the Dunhill Links Championship in 2008.

"I had a couple of good finishes at the end of last year with Henrik (Stenson) at the World Cup and with a second in Japan, but it is fantastic to be back now.

"I am really happy to be back playing well, it is the first time I have played really well for a long time and the way I finished off today was very satisfying."

European number one Westwood saw his chance of victory vanish when he three-putted the par-four 16th for bogey, but he held firm to claim a 12th top-10 finish in his last 15 events.

Westwood was forced to use a new driver after cracking the face of his previous club during Saturday's third round.

He put himself in contention with four birdies in five holes after the turn, moving him within one shot of Karlsson with four holes remaining.

But after his mistake at the 16th Karlsson pulled clear with back-to-back birdies over his closing two holes.

"It's hard to imagine anything else going wrong this week so 11 under is an unbelievable score," said Westwood.

"Long, straight driving is one of my strengths and if you take someone's strengths away from them it is going to very difficult to compete."

World number nine Casey, who is back to fitness after a long-term rib injury, dropped three shots on his front nine to go out in 39 and added two further bogeys mixed with three birdies on the way home.

Dredge, who won the last of his two European Tour titles in 2006, handed in a card the exact reverse of Casey's - 35 out and 39 back.

England's Oliver Wilson (71) finished with a hat-trick of birdies to share fifth at eight under, while Thomas Bjorn carded 69 for eighth place at seven under.

Scotland's Marc Warren had a disappointing 74 to finish 11 shots adrift of Karlsson, with compatriot Richie Ramsay four shots further back after a 70.

FINAL LEADERBOARD:
-13 R Ramsay (Sco) S Kapur (Ind) - Ramsay won at first extra hole -12 A Hansen (Den) -11 F Andersson Hed (Swe) E Molinari (Ita) -10 D Fichardt (SA) P Martin (Spa)

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Ramsay surged up the field on the final day to clinch victory
Scotland's Richie Ramsay won the South African Open at Pearl Valley by beating Indian Shiv Kapur in a play-off.

The pair tied on 13 under par after Ramsay had shot a a best-of-the-day 65 and Kapur had carded a 67.

But the last title of the 2009 golfing year was settled when 26-year-old Ramsay two-putted the first extra hole for a birdie four.

Ramsay, 25, started the day five adrift of Pablo Martin but the Spaniard managed only a 73 and dropped to sixth.

"There's no greater feeling than winning and I'm just a flood of emotions - I'm holding back the tears," said Ramsay after receiving the second oldest trophy in golf, a first prize of £141,745 - and a Tour exemption that runs until the end of 2011.

"Things just went for me," he added. "But I am a lot more positive now - I go out believing and thinking I can win."

Ramsay did not drop a shot all day, going to the turn in 33 and then grabbing more birdies on the 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th.

Denmark's Anders Hansen, Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed and Italian Edoardo Molinari all could have joined the play-off with a closing eagle but failed.

Ramsay went into the event ranked 240th in the world and the victory will take him just inside the top 120.

That makes him the second highest-ranked Scot behind US Tour-based Martin Laird. The last Scottish winner on the European circuit was Alastair Forsyth in Portugal 19 months ago.

Woods has been at the top of the profession for many years
Tiger Woods has hit out at "unfounded rumours" circulating since his car accident in the early hours of Friday.

The golfer was found semi-conscious with facial injuries after his car reportedly hit a fire hydrant and tree.

In a statement on his website the golfer said the only person responsible for the crash in Florida "was me".

He added: "The many false, unfounded and malicious rumours that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible."

The incident occurred in the suburb of Isleworth, an exclusive area near Orlando, at 0225 local time (0725 GMT) on Friday.

Florida police officers were told Woods' wife Elin had used a golf club to break the car's rear window and help him out.

Police were expected to question Woods about the incident on Sunday but the Associated Press reported that the meeting was cancelled for the third straight day.


TIGER WOODS'S CAREER
Born: Eldrick Woods in December 1975 in Cypress, California
First major title: In 1997, less than a year after turning professional
Winner: Of 71 official PGA Tour events, including 14 majors
Described as world's most marketable athlete, sponsorship deals with GM, Nike and others


Focus on reluctant Woods
Tiger Woods profile
Sgt Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' lawyer did not reschedule the meeting.

In a statement posted online about an hour before he was due to be interviewed, Woods said: "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

"This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received.

"But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be."

On Sunday authorities released a recording of a 911 emergency call made by the golfer's neighbour after the incident.

In a shaken voice, he says: "I need an ambulance immediately. I have someone down in front of my house. They hit a pole."

Woods, who has been married for five years and has two young children, has recently been the subject of tabloid allegations about his private life.

Asked about reports the couple had been arguing in the hours leading up to the crash, the police said they were treating the incident as a traffic accident, not a domestic issue.

According to the highway patrol, alcohol was not a factor in the incident.



A neighbour makes a 911 emergency call after the car accident involving Tiger Woods.
Chief Daniel Saylor of the Windermere Police Department said: "From what we understand, his wife came out of the house when she heard the accident, him hitting the fire hydrant, (and) used a golf club - that's what we were told - to break out the rear window to gain entrance into the vehicle, removed him from the vehicle and laid him down in the street.

"He was in and out of consciousness with lacerations to his upper and lower lip, with a little bit of blood in his mouth, but he was conscious enough to be able to speak a little bit. According to my officers, it was not life-threatening injuries."

In comments to the Associated Press news agency, Chief Saylor said his officers found the 33-year-old lying in the street with his wife hovering over him.

"She was frantic, upset. It was her husband laying on the ground."

Casey has been out of action since early August with a torn rib muscle
The top four players on the European Tour money list have avoided each other in the draw for this week's World Match Play Championship in Spain.

Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey have all been drawn in different groups for the tournament's new round-robin stage.

Westwood's four-man group includes fellow Englishman Ross Fisher while Casey's features American Anthony Kim.

The group winners at Finca Cortesin progress to Saturday's semi-finals.

Masters champion Angela Cabrera of Argentina, Sweden's world number seven Henrik Stenson and Colombian Camilo Villegas are also in the field.

The round-robin ties see every player matched up against every other competitor in their group during Thursday and Friday.

Casey, Northern Ireland's McIlroy and Germany's Kaymer all have the chance to take the European number one spot from Westwood should they make the semi-finals.