Green blooms in heat of a desert play-off

THE odd man was very much in at the Emirates club yesterday when Australia's Richard Green became the unlikely winner of the top prize of £116,660 in the Desert Classic. A left-hander, who plays the game that way simply because his father did, had the audacity to beat major winners Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam on the first hole of sudden-death.

It was a remarkable climax to a tournament that was blessed with glorious sunshine, a cooling breeze and the finest parkland greens imaginable. And victory was within Woosnam's grasp, when, on the last, he could afford three strokes from 73 yards to secure the title.

A significant problem, however, was that the first of these happened to be over water. As the Welshman admitted: "All I had to do was hit a little sandwedge onto the green." Through an extremely costly error of judgment, however, the ball came up 10 yards short of the intended target, hit the bank of the hazard and plunged to the deep.

By that stage, Norman was in the clubhouse on 16-under-par, having completed his round by sinking a curling eight-footer, right to left for a closing birdie. Earlier in an exemplary 66, he had carded three successive threes - eagle, par, birdie - from the third.

In the final two-ball, Green was 15-under playing the 18th and Woosnam was leading on 17-under. As it happened, the left-hander overshot the green in two giving himself an extremely difficult, downhill chip to the hole. He duffed it, leaving the ball in the fringe. From there, however, he stunned the gallery by sinking a left to right breaking putt of 20 feet, downhill all the way.

Now Woosnam had to hole a 10-footer for a bogey six to join Green and Norman in a play-off. On a similar line to the Australian's effort, the tough little fighter was equal to the task. That all three of those putts smoothly found the target so late in the day in was indicative of the quality of the greens.

So off they went into sudden death, back to the tee at the 351-yard 17th. Green was first to hit his approach, and with a sandwedge of 106 yards managed to stop the ball 12 feet left of the pin. Norman and Woosnam, however, both hit their second shots into the back fringe, from where they putted to set up pars.

Now with the title in his grasp, Green faced his moment of truth, not knowing if he would be equal to it. "I was so nervous I don't know how I hit the putt," he said afterwards. With his wife, Anita, caddying for him, however, he stroked the ball flawlessly into the centre of the cup for the biggest win of his career.

An associate member of the European Tour, he learned his golf at Huntingdale, Melbourne, where he is a disciple of the club's most celebrated member, Norman Von Nida. "He talks to me about the mental side of the game and takes a keen interest in my progress," said Green of the legendary master, whose seven European victories in 1947 is still a record.

The newly-crowned champion went on: "I'm naturally right-handed. I came to play the game left-handed, however, because as a six-year-old, the only clubs available to me were my father's. He was an eight-handicap, and his clubs felt so natural to me that I never thought of changing."

Tied sixth with Padraig Harrington at the half-way stage, his ultimate success was all the more remarkable for the fact that it was the first time he had actually met the so-called Shark. "I nodded `Hello' to him a few times, but we were never formally introduced," he said. "So, I first made his acquaintance as we headed down for the play-off."

For his part, Norman rated it a good day. "Congratulations to Richard. We've only played that one hole together, so he has one up on me." Of the 17th green, he said: "It is so hard that I just didn't know how the ball would react. Both Woosie and I were remarking on it."

The Welshman concurred: "I hit a good second shot but the green is like a rock. Obviously I had my winning chance on the 18th, so I have to be disappointed. But I made a good six to get into the play-off."

Bemhard Langer was very much in contention until the long 13th, where he pulled a three-wood second shot into trouble and then hit two poor chips to run up a bogey. "Where most guys were making four, I made six," he said. "That was the difference."

Meanwhile, Jose-Maria Olazabal completed an emotional come-back after an absence of 18 months by carding a 71 for a remarkable, nine-under-par aggregate of 279. As to his health, he said: "I'm not worse than when I came here, which is good news."

He went on: "I feel I coped with the seven rounds (three practice rounds) pretty well, though I feel some problems at the end of each round. I wouldn't be able to play four weeks in a row like I used to, but in general I am pretty happy with the result of the week."

A lot happier, one suspects, than compatriot Seve Ballesteros, who headed for Munich on Saturday evening to see if Olazabal's specialist could treat his back problems. "We talked about it," said Olazabal. "I told him the improvement in me has been great, but obviously it is a decision Seve has to make."