Karlsson beats Poulter in play-off to win final 2010 tournament in Dubai.

Robert Karlsson overcame Ian Poulter in a play-off to win the Dubai World Championship in the Jumeirah Golf Estates after they tied on 14 under par.

Poulter was 3 ahead at the start of the final round but Karlsson wasn't long catching him when he was 4 under par after the first 3 holes. They were round in 67 and 70 respectively and so sudden death decided who won the first prize of €910,348.

Both birdied the first extra hole after hitting approaches within five feet, and at the second extra hole Poulter mis-cued his sand wedge approach to leave a 30 foot putt.

Karlsson was precise again, his ball finishing three feet from the cup, and to make matters worse Poulter then picked up a one shot penalty when he dropped his ball on his marker and moved it. Karlsson was taking no chances and duly birdied for a fine victory.

It was another fine performance from Holywood's Rory McIlroy. He finished 5th on his own on 12 under par after he stormed home over the two closing rounds with a 66 & 67.

Graeme McDowell was needing a win to beat Martin Kaymer to the title of European No1, but he struggled over the opening rounds with a 72 & 73. He recovered with closing rounds of 69 and 68 for a share of 13th place alongside Peter Lawrie on -6.

Darren Clarke finished in 28th on -2 and with a cheque for €49,432 grabbed the 30th spot on the order of merit which gives him a place in next years Open Championship.

It wasn't a great week for Padraig Harrington. He opened with a 74 and closed with a 76 for a share of 39th on 1 over par. Gareth Maybin struggled with the course and ended in 55th spot on 9 over par, while the usually steady Damien McGrane was 13 over par to finish in 59th place.

THE RACE TO DUBAI ON THE 2011 EUROPEAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE

2010
Dec 9‐12 Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa
16‐19 South African Open Championship Durban CC, Durban, South Africa
2011
Jan 6‐9 Africa Open East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa
13‐16 Joburg Open Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
20‐23 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, UAE
27‐ 30 Volvo Golf Champions The Royal Golf Club, Kingdom of Bahrain
Feb 3‐6 Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
10‐13 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE
17‐20 Avantha Masters DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India
23‐27 WGC ‐ Accenture Match Play Championship Ritz‐Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA
Mar 10‐13 World Golf Championship Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA
17‐20 Sicilian Open Golf Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA, Sicily, Italy
24‐27 Open de Andalucia de Golf Parador de Málaga Golf, Málaga, Spain
31‐3 Apr Trophée Hassan II Golf du Palais Royal and Golf de L’Océan, Agadir, Morocco
Apr 7‐10 MASTERS TOURNAMENT Augusta National GC, Georgia, USA
14‐17 Maybank Malaysian Open TBA
21‐24 Volvo China Open TBA
28–1 May Ballantine's Championship Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, South Korea
May 5‐8 Open de España TBA
12‐15 Iberdrola Open Pula GC, Son Servera, Mallorca, Spain
19‐22 Volvo World Match Play Championship Finca Cortesin, Casares, Andalucia, Spain
19‐22 Madeira Islands Open BPI ‐ Portugal Porto Santo Golfe, Madeira, Portugal
26‐29 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
Jun 2‐5 The Celtic Manor Wales Open The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales
9‐12 BMW Italian Open Royal Park I Roveri, Turin, Italy
16‐19 US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Congressional CC, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
16‐19 SAINT‐OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France
23‐26 BMW International Open Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany
30‐3 Jul Alstom Open de France Le Golf National, Paris, France
Jul 7‐10 The Barclays Scottish Open TBA
14‐17 THE 140th OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Royal St George's GC, Sandwich, Kent
21‐24 Nordea Scandinavian Masters Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden
28‐31 Irish Open TBA
Aug 4‐7 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA
11‐14 US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia, USA
18‐21 Czech Open Prosper Golf Resort, Čeladná, Czech Republic
25‐28 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
Sept 1‐4 Omega European Masters Crans‐sur‐Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland
8‐11 KLM Open Hilversumsche GC, Hilversum, The Netherlands
15‐18 The Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros* Saint‐Nom‐la‐Bretèche, Paris, France
22‐25 Austrian GolfOpen Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, Austria
29‐2 Oct Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, Scotland
Oct 6‐9 Madrid Masters TBA
13‐16 Portugal Masters TBA
20‐23 CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Castellón, Valencia, Spain
27‐30 Andalucia Masters Venue TBA, Andalucia, Spain
Nov 3‐6 WGC ‐ HSBC Champions Shanghai, China
10‐13 Barclays Singapore Open The Tanjong & The Serapong, Sentosa GC, Singapore
17‐20 Iskandar Johor Open TBA
24‐27 Omega Mission Hills World Cup Mission Hills Resort, Hainan Island, Southern China
Dec 1‐4 UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
8‐11 DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP presented by DP World Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE

Ian Poulter wins in Hong Kong.

Ian Poulter landed his tenth European Tour title by holding off all challengers at the UBS Hong Kong Open. The win was always on the cards after opening with a 67 and then followed up with a second round of 60 to take the lead into the weekend.

The 34 year old, who narrowly missed out at last week's Barclays Singapore Open, closed with rounds of 64 & 67 to finish with a 22 under par aggregate of 258.

That was one clear of compatriot Simon Dyson and Italy's 17 year old superstar Matteo Manassero, who closed with a round of 62. In truth Poulter never looked like relinquishing the advantage he had held since the second round.

A bogey at the last after his approach found the bunker slightly spoiled his card, but three birdies on the front nine and a brilliant eagle at the par five 13th - where he nailed his drive then faded a fairway wood approach to 12 feet - secured victory.

Graeme McDowell was in the shake up all weekend. He shot 65,65,63 and 68 to finish on 19 under par and in 5th place. Rory McIlroy had another fine tournament when he finished 6th on his own with rounds of 63,66,66 and 67 ( 18 under par.)

Gareth Maybin stormed through the field during the final round with a best of the day 61. He finished in 7th place on 17 under par and won €46,665. Damien McGrane was also in good form on the last day. He fired a 63 that left him 15 under par and in a share of 11th place.

Darren Clarke started poorly with a 72 but he recovered with rounds of 64,64 and 68 to share 19th place on 12 under par. Michael Hoey was 25th on 9 under par, Peter Lawrie was 47th on 5 under par and Paul McGinley took 73/73 over the weekend to finish 64th and last on 3 over par.

Shane Lowry needed a good week to make the top 60 that would have earned him a place in the Race to Dubai tournament, but unfortunately missed the 2 under par cut mark by 3 shots after rounds of 68 and 73.

Francesco Molinari holds off the challenge of Westwood to win in Shanghai.

Francesco Molinari claimed a stunning wire-to-wire victory with rounds of 65, 70, 67 and 67 ( -19 ) at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International GC in Shanghai, following a titanic battle with World Number One Lee Westwood. The win earned Molinari €860,153 and moved him up to 4th on the Race to Dubai table.

The future looks bright for Italy. Francesco Molinari,is the 3rd Italian to win this year after his brother Edoardo won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and the Johnny Walker Classic at Gleneagles, then teenager Matteo Menassero became the youngest ever European winner when he won the Castello Masters in Valencia, Spain.

Westwood produced a superb display throughout the week to illustrate why he has moved to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings. He hit rounds of 66, 70, 67 and 67 ( -18 ) but came up one shot shy of the great golf played by Molinari, but was 9 shots clear of Luke Donald and Richie Ramsay in joint 3rd place.

Rory McIlroy went to 1 over par after 13 holes of the 3rd round, before fighting back with 4 birdies over the last 5 holes to stay in contention with a 3rd round of 71. McIlroy once again showed his class with a final round of 67 to make his way right through the field to finish in solo 5th place on 8 under par. The prize of €179,199 takes Rory into 13th place on the Race to Dubai table with €1,375,399.

It was another up and down week for Padraig Harrington, when he scored everything from a 2 to a 7 over the 4 rounds. Padraig hit rounds of 70, 70, 70 and 73 for a share of 16th on 5 under par. He made an eagle 3 at the 18th in round two, then when struggling in the 3rd round, he holed his 2nd shot for an albatross at the 594 yard 14th hole. In the final round he made a birdie 2 at the 17th to reach 7 under par, only to find water at the 18th for a double bogey 7.

Graeme McDowell never got to grips with the course until the final round. He had 74, 71, 73, and a 69 for a share of 34th place on 1 under par.