Karlsson beats penalised Poulter

 at second hole of play-off

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Sweden's Robert Karlsson overcame in-form Englishman Ian Poulter in a play-off to win the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World today.

The pair tied on the 14 under par mark of 274 after Karlsson, three behind overnight, played the first three holes in four under and then pitched to three feet for a birdie on the 620yd last hole.

They were round in 67 and 70 respectively and so sudden death decided who won the first prize of €910,348.

Both birdied the first extra hole after hitting approaches within five feet, and at the second extra hole Poulter miscued his sand wedge approach to leave a 30 foot putt.

Karlsson was precise again, his ball finishing three feet from the cup, and to make matters worse Poulter then picked up a one-shot penalty when he accidentally dropped his ball on his marker and moved it.

Two putts meant a bogey 6 for Poulter, but the penalty was irrelevant as Karlsson holed his birdie putt (scroll down beyond the final totals to read a more in-depth report on the incident)..

Karlsson, the 2008 European No 1, who has suffered a serious eye problem and glandular fever since then, will also remember his start.

From three behind Poulter overnight he birdied the first two holes and then sank an eight iron on the third for an eagle 2, just as Martin Kaymer did in the opening round.

World No 1 and defending champion Westwood shared third place with Alvaro Quiros a stroke behind, the Spaniard missing a long eagle putt on the 18th and Westwood pulling his second to the hole into water and taking 5 when a birdie would have made him part of the play-off. He got as close as that.

Kaymer and Graeme McDowell, the only two contenders for The Race to Dubai entering the event, finished joint 13th, which earned the 25 year old German - the youngest number one since Ronan Rafferty in 1989 - a bonus of €1,092,418.

McDowell had to finish third in the tournament just to have a chance, but the memories of the US Open Championship and Ryder Cup, of course - softened the blow of just missing out on the top spot.

Karlsson said: "It was a strange day to say the least. To start birdie-birdie-eagle is not what you expect to happen when you are three behind.

"Then there was the one-shot penalty. It's not the way you want to win, but these things happen in golf.

“It's a fantastic field, and obviously when we have all of the best players in Europe together, the way it looks now, it's going to be a great field - so to win here is fantastic.”

Poulter, winner of last week’s UBS Hong Kong Open and looking for consecutive wins for the first time in his career, struggled to contain his disappointment.

“A lot of positives to take away, but right now not really seeing them,” he said.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
Prizemoney in Euros
274 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 65 75 67 67 (Robert Karlsson won play-off at second extra hole), Ian Poulter 69 66 69 70. Karlsson 910,349; Poulter 606,897.

275 Lee Westwood 69 67 71 68, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 67 69 67 (314,070 each).

276 Rory McIlroy 71 72 66 67 (218,484).

277 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 67 68 71, Paul Casey 70 67 71 69 (168,021 each).

279 Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 68 69 69 73 (147,477).

280 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 66 73 74 67, Luke Donald 74 67 69 70 (131,090 each).

281 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 70 70 70, Anders Hansen (Den) 74 70 67 70

282 Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 70 72 70 70, Ross Fisher 71 64 71 76, Graeme McDowell 72 73 69 68, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 73 66 70 73, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 67 70 73 72, Peter Lawrie 76 67 68 71, Peter Hanson (Swe) 76 69 67 70, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 71 69 71 71

283 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 75 73 66, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 69 74 70 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 70 70 71 72

284 Soren Hansen (Den) 74 70 69 71, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 69 71 71 73

285 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 71 71 70 73, Joost Luiten (Ned) 72 72 67 74

286 Brett Rumford (Aus) 71 70 74 71, Ernie Els (Rsa) 73 70 72 71, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 73 71 70 72, Darren Clarke 71 71 73 71

287 Matteo Manassero (Ita) 74 68 70 75, Simon Dyson 72 71 73 71, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 72 71 69 75

288 Richie Ramsay 73 69 73 73, Oliver Wilson 75 73 68 72, David Horsey 70 73 74 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 73 70 73 (39,327 each).

289 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 78 72 66 73, Padraig Harrington 74 70 69 76

290 Gary Boyd 70 75 70 75, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 73 75 70, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 73 72 75 70, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 75 73 69 73, Johan Edfors (Swe) 73 74 71 72

291 Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 71 77 74

292 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 75 69 74 74

293 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 69 79 75, Richard Green (Aus) 72 73 70 78, Jamie Donaldson 78 67 72 76

294 Stephen Gallacher 73 74 71 76 (23,487).

295 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 75 76 69 75

296 John Parry 75 69 76 76, Simon Khan 73 77 71 75

297 Gareth Maybin 73 71 77 76, Danny Willett 76 76 72 73

300 Robert Rock 76 73 74 77, Rhys Davies 75 74 74 77
301 Damien McGrane 74 78 77 72.


Butterfingers Poulter pays the penalty

DUBAI (AP) -- Whoever knew dropping a golf ball could cost a player $400,000?
That's just what happened to Englishman Ian Poulter on Sunday when he went to replace his ball on his marker and dropped it from a few inches above the ground, falling victim to one of golf's more arcane rules.
The blunder cost Poulter a shot and helped Swede Robert Karlsson win $1.25 million at the Dubai World Championship, the final event of the European Tour season.
Poulter's second prize is impressive nonetheless at $833,000.
Poulter and Karlsson were locked in a playoff on the 18th hole of the Dubai Earth course after four rounds in the desert where both finished at 14 under. The first play-off hole was tied and on the second play-off hole -- again on the 18th -- Poulter left himself with a 40ft putt while Karlsson's chip to the green landed within 4ft of the pin.
But as the English golfer marked his ball, it slipped from his grasp and fell on the marker, which jumped in the air and turned over.

Poulter let the match referee know immediately.

"Ian Poulter called me over just after he had marked the ball on the 18th and told me he had dropped his ball onto the ball marker which caused the ball marker to move, it just flipped over," chief match referee Andy McFee said. "This incurred a one-stroke penalty."

So instead of trying to force another play-off hole, Poulter realised his putt was for a 5. Poulter shrugged, putted and missed, while Karlsson holed his short putt. The gallery of a couple of thousand spectators was unaware of the drama.

Rule 20-1/15 is the one that impacted Poulter.

"Any accidental movement of the ball marker which occurs before or after the specific act of marking, including as a result of dropping the ball, regardless of the height from which it was dropped ... results in the player incurring a one- stroke penalty," McFee said in a statement.

Karlsson said after the tournament ended that Poulter had told him of the ruling before they finished the second play-off hole, but he had not been sure the ruling would stand. Regardless, Karlsson's putt was much shorter.

"These things happen in golf. It's not the way you want to win," the 41-year-old Swede said. "The rules are there for a reason but some of them can be tough."

Poulter's friend and rival Rory McIlroy was quick to see the funny side, even if Poulter's mistake cost him more than $400,000.

He tweeted: "Poults may not have won the Dubai world championship, but he could be in with a shout for tiddlywinks world championship."