DUBAI // As the current top dog in the 2014 Race to Dubai, Thomas Bjorn should rightfully be focused on what lies over the horizon.
Yet, such is the Dane’s affinity with the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and the emirate as a whole, that he could be found this week reminiscing about events long past.
Saying that, rejogging the memory was certainly merited. It was at Emirates Golf Club, way back in 2001, that Bjorn derailed golf’s runaway freight train, defeating a seemingly bulletproof Tiger Woods to capture the coffee pot trophy.
“That week was pretty special,” Bjorn said.
And so it was. Then a Dubai resident, he was paired with Woods for all four rounds, matching the world No 1 almost shot-for-shot as the pair dominated the leaderboard throughout. By close of play Saturday, Woods was atop the heap, one stroke ahead of Bjorn.
“The tournament built around us,” Bjorn said. “It became a two-man battle for a lot of it.”
That it did, although with a caveat. A talented player with five European Tour victories already he may have been, but in that particular skirmish Bjorn represented the clear underdog. Woods was the game’s kingpin, coming off a career-defining, nine-win 2000. He was in the midst of capturing the wraparound Grand Slam, too. So a 54-hole lead usually meant they could hand out the prizes early.
“There was the big fear factor of playing with Tiger at that time,” Bjorn said. “He was expected to win every time he teed it up. But the whole week I played some of the best golf I’ve ever done, and felt if I could just hang onto his shirttails, you never know what happens on the last few holes.”
The penultimate hole, in fact. Both found the green at the par-4 17th in two, where Woods missed a 12-footer for birdie; Bjorn rattled home from 10 feet to draw level on 22 under. It proved a popular putt.
“I’d got a lot of friends in Dubai,” Bjorn said. “I could hear the roar from the clubhouse all the way to the green.”
The decibel count rose again on 18. With Bjorn in the middle of the fairway, Woods’s drive found the trees and his second scuttled across the short stuff. Scrambling for salvation, his third got wet in the greenside lake, as Woods sunk to a double-bogey seven. Bjorn’s par clinched the event.
“Tiger never made mistakes then, but he did to hand me the title,” said Bjorn, who unsurprisingly ranks that week as among his finest as a pro.
“It was four days with him, at that moment in time, that would stand as something any player would treasure.”
Indian golfer Bhullar continues to learn from the best
Some have described unsuccessful attempts to win tournaments as a “learning experience”.
That was certainly the case for rising Indian player Gaganjeet Bhullar, a 25-year-old rookie, who played in the last group of the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship alongside runner-up Phil Mickelson this month.
“I was very impressed with his mental attitude,” said Bhullar, who finished joint-10th and is playing this week in Dubai.
“Sundays are such a big deal, and he was there mentally for the whole 18 holes. That’s what separates the winners from guys who are second or third.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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