POULTER WINS DUNLOP PHOENIX TOURNAMENT
BY THREE STROKES IN JAPAN

England's Ian Poulter held on to win the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan in the face of a last-round charge by Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez Castano.
Poulter signed off with a one-under-par 69 to have three strokes to spare at the finish and claim the $364,250 first prize.
Fernandez-Castano shot a 68 in the final round.
Defending champion Padraig Harrington finished six strokes off the pace after a final-round 69.
Luke Donald (71) tied for third with Shingo Katayama, who carded a final round 68.
Poulter admitted a return to winning ways was a welcome feeling as the Englishman posted his first victory of the year.
Poulter carded a respectable one-under-par 69 in gusty winds at Phoenix Country Club, never surrendering the lead over the final 10 holes, although his triumph was not nearly as comfortable as his three-shot cushion over fast-finishing Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (68) suggests.
"I was very much aware that this was the last stroke play event of the year. It's a lovely feeling to win again, and it's so nice to come and do it in Japan," Poulter said after finishing at 11-under 269 for his ninth worldwide victory, his first outside the European Tour.
Luke Donald (71) faded down the stretch to tie for third with Japan's Shingo Katayama (68), four strokes off the pace, while defending champion Padraig Harrington (69) was equal fifth, another two shots adrift.
The par-four 12th proved the pivotal hole for Poulter, who seemed destined to fall back into a tie for the lead with Donald, only to sink a 40ft putt from the fringe to salvage par.
"The putt, swinging left to right with the last seven or eight feet onto the downslope, was too difficult for me to try to hole it ... I was just trying to two-putt it," he admitted.
"In that position, you're trying to get it close enough to where you don't three-putt. It was a huge boost to see it go in. It took a bit of pressure off."
Buoyed by the reprieve, he curled in a 6ft birdie putt two holes later to extend his lead, and was never headed after that.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4 x 70)
269 I Poulter 65 68 67 68.
272 G Fernandez-Castano 66 69 69 68.
273 S Katayama 67 67 71 68, L Donald 69 66 67 71.
275 B Snedeker 70 70 68 67, P Harrington 68 65 73 69.
Other totals:
276 J Milkha Singh 68 68 70 70 (jt 7th).
278 H Stenson 69 69 69 71 (jt 13th).
279 C Parry 71 66 70 72 (jt 15th).