GOLF QATAR MASTERS:THOMAS BJORN became the first Dane to capture the Qatar Masters yesterday when he recorded a bogey-free 69 in windy conditions to win by four strokes.

Bjorn, who turns 40 later this month, finished ahead of Spain’s Alvaro Quiros on 14-under-par 274 to pick up his 11th title on the European Tour and move to third in this season’s money list.

“In the end it became a bit of a cruise, but I am delighted with the week,” said the twice Ryder Cup player and vice-captain. “I played solid golf. I think I made one bogey in the last 54 holes. On this golf course and in these conditions, that’s good going.”

Spaniard Rafael Cabrera and Austria’s Markus Brier finished a shot farther back on 279, while defending champion Robert Karlsson of Sweden closed with a 74 for 282 and Spain’s Sergio Garcia hit a 68 for a 283 final total.

Darren Clarke enjoyed another good week in the desert. After an opening, six-over 78 on Thursday, Clarke got it together to shoot 69 69 68 over the next three days to eventually finish tied for 12th on four under par.

Yesterday Clarke had five birdies in his four-under 68.

Paul McGinley and Michael Hoey both fired a pair of 71s over the weekend to finish on 289.

Bjorn added: “I said yesterday it was going to be one of those days where it’s a question of hanging in, and that’s all I did earlier on.

“I didn’t play particularly well for at least the first six holes. I was really struggling and didn’t hit any fairways, and just kept holing a few putts for pars.”

Bjorn’s world ranking is now set to improve from 134 to the top 60, a position he will want to consolidate at next week’s Dubai Desert Classic.

The world’s top 64 players will contest the lucrative WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship in Arizona later this month, and the victory is a timely one for the 2010 Ryder Cup vice-captain who had previously won only once since 2006.

And it is a huge boost to his hopes of earning a place in this July’s Open on the same Sandwich course, where he blew a three-shot lead over the closing stretch in 2003.

“It’s a big win and hopefully it can push me onto bigger things,” he said.

“When I play like this I know I can play against the best.

“All parts of the game were well this week. I fought when I needed to and I kept it together and I never got ahead of myself. So that’s a good day’s work,” he said.

Big-hitting Quiros, first and second in the event the past two years, made a back-nine charge and closed the gap to one as Bjorn reeled off 14 pars in a row in the windy conditions.

But after Quiros three-putted the 470-yard 15th, Bjorn, armed with a new driver that gave him an extra 10 yards, hit a brilliant approach there to within four feet of the flag and then added further birdies on the driveable 16th and par-five 18th.

“I knew if I stuck to my game plan I would be all right. Once I hit my tee-shot on 18 I knew nothing could go wrong from there.

“We’re fortunate as golfers that we can keep going at the highest level at this age. I’ve worked hard. I’m seeing the benefits of it and this changes my travel plans a little bit – for the good.”

Quiros dropped another shot on the 155-yard 17th – television commentator Ewen Murray described his choice of a wedge on the tee as “madness” – but a closing birdie took him ahead of third-placed pair Markus Brier and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

Bjorn’s faultless play put the world number one Lee Westwood (missed cut) and number two Martin Kaymer, who closed with a 71 for a 286 total, in the shade.

Kaymer was unable to capitalise on Westwood’s early-season rustiness, however, and the Briton will remain at the top of the rankings.

Fellow top-10 players Paul Casey (six) and American Steve Stricker (seven) also struggled around the testing Doha layout, Casey missing the cut and Stricker shooting a 69 for a one-over 289.

David Howell, who came into the week ranked only 352nd, returned to something like his old form with a fifth-place finish, while Garcia, who had slumped from second to 80th, was joint ninth, his best performance for almost a year.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Coakley finished in joint 25th after the final round of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

After a two-over-par final round 75, the Irish woman ended the tournament at the Commonwealth Golf Club in Melbourne 16 shots behind run-away winner Yani Tseng, who retained her title with a commanding seven-shot victory.

“It feels very good to win by seven shots,” Tseng said. “I have not had that feeling before and it feels very good.

“And I enjoyed the crowd on the 18th hole. I always enjoy it here. I love the city, I love the people and all the volunteers. They are very nice to me.”

Final Scores

(British unless stated, Irish in bold)

274 – T Bjorn (Den) 74 65 66 69 (€303,114).

278 – A Quiros (Spa) 75 69 66 68.

279 – M Brier (Aut) 71 66 69 73, R Cabrera Bello (Spa) 77 68 66 68.

280 – D Howell 75 69 68 68.

282 – R Karlsson (Swe) 70 69 69 74, T Aiken (Rsa) 71 69 69 73, S Hansen (Den) 74 71 68 69.

283 – R Finch 70 69 71 73, S Garcia (Spa) 73 73 69 68, V Dubuisson (Fra) 74 68 71 70.

284 – D Drysdale 71 71 72 70, J Parry 76 70 71 67, S Gallacher 72 73 69 70, O Wilson 74 69 71 70, M Foster 73 71 68 72, Darren Clarke78 69 69 68 (€26,969), B Dredge 72 71 72 69.

285 – R Goosen (Rsa) 69 71 75 70, S O’Hara 73 69 69 74, D Lynn 73 69 71 72, K Ferrie 75 69 70 71, T Jaidee (Tha) 74 69 73 69, R Gonzalez (Arg) 73 74 67 71, P Lawrie 74 66 71 74, K Horne (Rsa) 78 69 67 71, G Havret (Fra) 73 73 66 73.

286 – R Jan Derksen (Ned) 74 72 71 69, J Kingston (Rsa) 72 74 72 68, M Kaymer (Ger) 77 70 68 71, D Fichardt (Rsa) 70 68 74 74, G Storm 75 70 69 72, A Wall 75 70 69 72, F Aguilar (Chi) 77 66 70 73, N Fasth (Swe) 70 74 74 68, F Zanotti (Par) 77 70 68 71.

287 – M Wiegele (Aut) 76 70 72 69, P Whiteford 75 70 72 70, L Oosthuizen (Rsa) 73 69 69 76.

288 – J Huldahl (Den) 74 70 71 73, A Velasco (Spa) 77 68 71 72, G Boyd 73 72 74 69, S Dodd 77 70 69 72, O Floren (Swe) 79 67 70 72.

289 – J Milkha Singh (Ind) 73 71 72 73, S Stricker (US) 76 71 73 69, J-B Gonnet (Fra) 73 71 76 69, S Webster 75 72 68 74, R Ramsay 75 70 74 70, M Siem (Ger) 75 72 74 68, R Rock 73 68 73 75, G Bourdy (Fra) 75 71 70 73, Paul McGinley77 70 71 71, Michael Hoey74 73 71 71 (€8,366 each).

290 – J Haeggman (Swe) 75 72 68 75, S Kjeldsen (Den) 77 69 70 74, B Lane 74 73 69 74, J Edfors (Swe) 80 67 70 73.

291 – R Wattel (Fra) 77 68 77 69, A Coltart 74 72 73 72, M Brown (Nzl) 75 69 73 74, S Benson 71 72 73 75.

292 – J Daly (US) 77 68 73 74, J-M Olazabal (Spa) 75 72 72 73, P Waring 79 68 72 73, I Poulter 72 71 74 75, J Donaldson 74 73 74 71, I Garrido (Spa) 73 71 72 76, T Goya (Arg) 73 72 76 71.

293 – P Hanson (Swe) 72 75 76 70, P Broadhurst 78 69 70 76.

294 – MF Haastrup (Den) 77 70 73 74.

295 – S Dyson 72 72 75 76.

296 – MA Jimenez (Spa) 73 72 79 72, O Fisher 71 72 77 76.

297 – David Horsey 74 71 72 80.