Lucas Herbert got his hands on European Tour silverware for the very first time as he came out on top of a thrilling play-off with Christiaan Bezuidenhout to win the 31st edition of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in challenging conditions.
Both men had started the day six shots behind leader Ashun Wu but as the players above the pair failed to play their ‘A’ game in the tricky weather conditions, the duo shot tied the round of the day of four under par 68 to finish on nine under par and take the tournament to extra holes.
Herbert’s chances looked to be up on the first trip back up the 18th after finding the water but the Australian’s superb third shot left him a tap in par which Bezuidenhout matched. The 24 year old sealed the iconic Dallah Trophy on the second extra hole with a birdie while Bezuidenhout could only make par.
“There’s some pretty average stuff happening in Australia right now with the fires and Cam Smith said it a couple of weeks ago when he won, everyone around the world is behind us and hopefully we can keep fighting harder than what I did on that first play-off hole,” said Herbert, whose victory on Australia Day in his 50th European Tour event moves him back into the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
“That’s nothing compared to the firefighters and volunteers that are putting out the fires so I’m sending all my love back home.”
Dubai-based Adri Arnaus finished two shots off the leaders to share third with Tom Lewis and Dean Burmester while Wu and Kitayama finished on six under par in tied sixth.
Last year’s winner, Bryson DeChambeau, posted a frustrating four over par 76 to finish in tied eight along with Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Robert MacIntyre.
