Welshman Jamie Donaldson, the man who recently sent Robert Rock a picture of his US Masters invitation just to wind him up, has now succeeded him as winner of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The 37-year-old, whose only previous European Tour success came on his 255th start at the Irish Open in Portriush, last July, won the £278,172 first prize by a stroke when long-time leader Justin Rose lipped out on the final green from 12 feet.
Minutes earlier Donaldson had three-putted for a bogey six, missing from under five feet, but it did not matter.
Against a field that had earlier in the week included world top two Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods - both missed the halfway cut - he could hardly believe what had just happened.
“I played the pro-am on Wednesday and thought the course was too difficult and I had no chance,” Donaldson said.
“I thought if I could get a decent finish I would be chuffed. To be holding this trophy is just mad.”
Rose, whose last trip to the Middle East in November saw him denied by McIlroy in Dubai, shared second place this time with Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, whose own 18ft attempt to force a play-off ran just wide.
The biggest sympathy vote, though, went to Rose’s fellow Englishman David Howell.
Down at 258th in the world - he was 569th less than three years ago - the former world number nine charged into the lead with five birdies in the first 10 holes.
But the Swindon golfer bogeyed the short 12th, then on the next splashed out of sand to four feet and, incredibly, four-putted from there for a triple-bogey seven.
Howell had to be content with a tie for sixth place when a first victory for seven years would have taken him back into the game’s top 100.
Donaldson, who earned his Masters spot by climbing into the top 50 by the end of last year, will be around 30th when the new rankings are published.
“It’s pretty surreal really and I got away with murder there at the last,” he added.
“The wait was nerve-wracking. I thought one of them would hole, if not both.”
Rose, whose runners-up finish was still good enough to take him back to fourth in the world, said: “It was definitely hard work today.
“For some reason it was hard to see the breaks on the front nine, but I pulled it together really well and felt I got into a really good competitive mode.
“I didn’t do a lot wrong. It’s hard to beat yourself up about it.”
Peter Lawrie and Padraig Harrington led the Irish challenge on five under par. Michael Hoey ended the event on two over with Gareth Maybin finishing on two under.
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