Thomas Bjorn won the Dubai Desert Classic in sensational fashion on Sunday when Tiger Woods struck an iron shot into the water on the final hole to hand the title to the Dane.

The two players, partnering each other for the fourth consecutive day, went into the par-five 18th tied at 22-under.

 

Tiger Woods suffered at the final hole

But the world No.1 put himself in trouble by hitting his second into the rough after driving his tee shot wildly to the right. The entire championship hinged on the third shot.

But Woods could only look on in despair as he skied his ball straight into the water, incurring an automatic penalty stroke.

His next shot landed on dry land but it still took the American two more putts to complete the hole, leaving him with a disastrous double-bogey seven and a final total of 20-under.

For Woods, it was nothing short of disaster, especially since he had led for almost the entire tournament and birdied the 18th on the three previous days.

Unthinkable mistake

Bjorn had watched his rival make the almost unthinkable mistake then calmly played his own shot onto the green, leaving him only inches away from a birdie.

The Dane missed but it did not matter, as he finally holed out for a par five, leaving him 22-under for the tournament, a Dubai record.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington shared second place, while Swede Mathias Gronberg and Briton Ian Woosnam were next, ending on 18-under.

Earlier in the day Bjorn had suffered a torrid time as he threw down the challenge to Woods by sporting a red shirt.

The world No.1 always wears red on the final day and the Dane must have been regretting his decision as he struggled badly with his putting, dropping a shot on the fifth and missing three possible birdies.

But he recovered brilliantly to chalk up his sixth victory on the European tour and soar up the Ryder Cup rankings ahead of this year's showdown with the United States.