DOHA, February 5, 2012 (AFP) - Paul Lawrie stroked a fluent 65 to win the Qatar Masters for the second time with a four-shot win over Jason Day and Peter Hanson at the Doha Golf Club on Sunday.
The Scotsman produced a bogey-free third round in the truncated tournament as the chasing pack made crucial errors to win his seventh European Tour title with an aggregate of 15-under 201 for 54 holes.
Lawrie's first win in Qatar came in 1999, the same year he claimed the British Open at Carnoustie.
Holding a one-shot lead after the second round on Saturday, Lawrie struck a brilliant eagle on the 639-yard par-five ninth hole, giving him a two shot cushion over Day, who began with four consecutive birdies but dropped two shots by the time he finished his first nine holes.
Lawrie calmly went along picking up shots and by the time he birdied the 16th and 17th holes he had the Mother of Pearl trophy firmly in his grip.
The 43-year-old Scot then parred the 18th to complete the formalities.
"I don't think I can play much better than that," Lawrie said. "I've been playing well for a long, long time, but it's just nice to come out one ahead and shoot seven under."
Day was on fire on the back nine too, picking up four straight birdies from the 10th to 13, but could only par the next four to lose steam.
He was with an eagle chance on the 18th but missed by a whisker, the birdie giving him an aggregate of 11 under.
Hanson needed an eagle on the final hole to overtake Day, but finished with a birdie for a second-place tie with the Australian. John Daly finished two shots down for fourth.
The victory ensures Lawrie a place in the 64-man World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play in Arizona later in February and the 24-man Volvo World Match Play in Spain in May.
He is also on course to win a second Ryder Cup cap 13 years after his first, and if manages stay in the top 50 for another seven weeks he will make a return to The Masters in April after an eight-year gap.
Lawrie added: "When you've got a chance to win a tournament you don't sleep as well the night before and things go racing through your mind.
"You've got to get back to basics and I did that. I hit some nice shots coming in."
Lawrie was reminded that his 1999 victory in Qatar was followed five months later by lifting The Claret Jug at Carnoustie. "Now wouldn't that be nice to get that again?"
Day was all praise for Lawrie.
"It's been a very successful week and I did everything I could to try and catch him," the Australian said.
"The wind wasn't up as much as the last few days but I’m excited to be heading back to the US to try and take this momentum into the PGA Tour."
Hanson, who was tied in second place with Day, said the way Lawrie was playing, others could only try for the runner-up position
"Paul played fantastic and hardly missed a shot," said the Swede.
"He holed out when he should, made all those clutch putts and chipped in a couple of times. To go out in the lead and shoot 65 on this golf course is an unbelievable achievement."
American Daly was also a happy man, having made a promising start to the year.
"It's a great start - a very unexpected start," the flamboyant Daly smiled after a final round 67.
"My goals are to get my European Tour card and maybe get into the DP World Tour Championship at the end of the year.
"I think if I can get into enough tournaments then that’s a realistic target I hope. If I just keep doing what I'm doing and working at it, then it's all about confidence for me."
Leading scores after the weather-hit Qatar Masters golf tournament which was played over 54 holes at Doha Golf Club.
201 - Paul Lawrie (SCO) 69-67-65
205 - Jason Day (AUS) 68-72-65, Peter Hanson (SWE) 69-69-67
207 - John Daly (USA) 67-73-67
208 - Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 71-72-65, Soren Hansen (DEN) 71-71-66, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 72-68-68, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 71-67-70
209 - Martin Kaymer (GER) 71-70-68, Victor Dubuisson (FRA) 72-68-69, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 69-68-72
210 - Anders Hansen (DEN) 70-73- 67, Keith Horne (RSA) 73-69-68, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 73-69-68, Michael Hoey (NIR), 71-71-68, Jose Maria Olazabal (ESP) 71-70-69, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP) 66-75-69, Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-70-69, Marcel Siem (GER) 71-69-70
211- Chris Wood (ENG) 72-72-67, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 72-71-68, Brett Rumford (AUS) 74-69-68, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 71-69-71, James Kingston (RSA) 70-69-72
212 - Shaun Micheel (USA) 71-74-67, Jorge Campillo (ESP) 73-71-68, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 79-65-68, Richard Finch (ENG) 69-74-69, Richard Green (AUS) 70-73-69, Gregory Havret (FRA) 71-72-69, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 72-69-71, Pablo Larrazabal (ESP) 71-70-71, Anthony Wall (ENG) 74-66-72, Simon Khan (ENG) 71-68- 73