Nov 14, 2018: Henrik Stenson won the final Hero Challenge of the 2018 European Tour season under the lights in Dubai after seeing off Lee Westwood in the final.
The 2016 Open Championship winner shone from the word go at Atlantis, The Palm, on Tuesday evening, scoring a magnificent 190 points to top Group Two before seeing off his Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood in the semi-final.
And he took that momentum and consistency into the final where he beat Westwood 105-85, finding the floating target with each of his five balls to secure the trophy.
It could have been a different story for Westwood, who hit the pin with his fourth shot and watched on as his ball landed in the five-point zone.
After host Vernon Kay had introduced the six stars to the crowd it was Westwood who went first in Group One, setting a testing target of 100 points in his 60 seconds.
India’s Shubhankar Sharma was up next but he could only manage 50 points before Fleetwood notched 95 to join Westwood in the last four.
Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn kicked off Group Two but his 130 points were not enough as Stenson racked up 190 before Masters Tournament winner Patrick Reed got 135 to edge out Bjørn.
After Westwood and Reed both scored 55 points in their semi-final, a nearest-to-the-pin contest was required to separate them.
And Englishman Westwood sent his ball closest to progress to the final, where he met Stenson following his 135-125 win against Fleetwood.
Stenson made a bright start in the final, scoring 25 points with three of his first four balls and getting 10 with the other to open up a 50-point lead before both players hit their final balls, which were worth double.
The Swede scored 20 points with his last ball, meaning Westwood needed to find the 50-point zone with his final shot to win.
But last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player champion Westwood could only find the 25 zone to finish a close second.
European Tour Release
