Stenson outduels Els, Woods

Henrik Stenson shot a four-under 68 Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic, finishing one stroke ahead of Ernie Els and two in front of defending champion Tiger Woods in the United Arab Emirates.

Stenson, who has lived in Dubai for three years, began the day two shots behind Els. But the Swede had five birdies at the Emirates Golf Club to finish at 19-under 269.

“It’s just unbelievable to win in your home tournament,” said Stenson, a member of the Emirates Golf Club. “It’s always nice to beat Tiger. And to play four rounds with Ernie and to beat him by one shot coming down the stretch, that’s also satisfying.”

Els (71) had three bogeys, the same as Woods (69), who shared third place with Niclas Fasth (68) at 17 under. Woods, who had a difficult time putting despite the quality of the greens, said it was one of his most frustrating tournaments.

“That’s one of the worst putting weeks I’ve had in a long time,” Woods said. “I’m going to go home and just kind of figure it out. Hopefully get my putting organized before I compete again.”

Woods said he handled the poor greens at Torrey Pines the previous week, when he won the Buick Invitational for his seventh consecutive U.S. PGA Tour event. The Dubai Desert Classic doesn’t count against his streak.

“It’s frustrating because normally I don’t really putt well on poor greens, like I did last week,” Woods said. “And I come over here to the best greens we’ve seen in a long time and I miss a bunch.”

Ross Fisher (71) finished fifth at 16 under after leading the tournament for the first two days.

Fisher, a little-known golfer who once fetched practice range balls for Woods, said he was awed to be paired with the world’s No. 1 golfer -- and leading him for most of the day.

Strong wind got the sand blowing, making conditions difficult. Els, who started the day in the lead, had an especially tough day, narrowly missing a series of putts that cost him the lead.

“I really got out of sorts on the greens and had a couple of bad swings,” said Els, a three-time winner of the Desert Classic.

Stenson’s victory came down to the par-five 18th, with Stenson a stroke ahead of Els. The South African hit a 60-foot chip shot from the rear of the green that just missed being an eagle. Stenson then made a five-foot birdie putt, and Els followed with a birdie to finish one shot behind.

*

Aaron Baddeley birdied three of the final four holes and took advantage of Jeff Quinney’s late collapse for a one-stroke victory in the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.

It was a dramatic late turnaround for two golfers who are virtually neighbors in north Scottsdale.

Baddeley trailed Quinney by three shots with four holes to go but birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th holes en route to his second PGA Tour victory.

Quinney, a PGA Tour rookie after five seasons on the Nationwide Tour, bogeyed the final two holes, marking the third straight tournament he has led or shared the lead in the last round but failed to win.

Baddeley shot his second consecutive seven-under 64 to finish at 21-under 196. John Rollins tied the best round of the week at 63 and was second at 20 under, one shot ahead of Quinney (68). Bart Bryant was 18 under and Billy Mayfair followed at 17 under.

*

Karrie Webb captured her third Women’s Australian Open title in Sydney, shooting an even-par 72 in the final round for a six-stroke win.

Webb, who began with a four-stroke lead over Wei Yun-jye of Taiwan, finished with a 10-under 278 total at Royal Sydney. Wei shot 74 to finish second at four under.

Paula Marti of Spain and Minea Blomqvist of Finland each shot 69 to finish tied for third at two under. Brittany Lincicome and Shin Ji-yai of South Korea also had 69s, finishing another shot back.