DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Sergio Garcia shot a final-round 3-under-par 69 to win the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday after holding the tournament lead since the opening round.
The Spaniard, who had never posted a top-10 finish in his previous seven Desert Classic appearances, finished on a 19-under 269, three strokes ahead of Open champion and top-ranked European Henrik Stenson (69).
Denmark's Lasse Jensen, whose 65 was the low round of the day, finished tied for third with England's Tyrrell Hatton (67).
It was Garcia's first European Tour win since the 2014 Qatar Masters. In the interim, he also won the Byron Nelson Classic on the PGA Tour last year.
With his 12th European Tour victory, Garcia became the sixth wire-to-wire winner of the Desert Classic and the sixth Spaniard to lift the "Dallah" trophy.
Garcia is expected to move up to No. 9 from his current 15th place when the rankings are released today.
The 37-year-old started the day with a birdie and increased his lead to four shots, a cushion that seemed necessary given how tough the front nine of the golf course was playing due to cross winds. He held his nerve throughout before making a critical par save on the eighth hole after hitting his tee shot into the right desert, and then made another birdie on the tough par-4 ninth to ensure he stayed four ahead of Stenson.
Stenson, who won the tournament in 2007, said: "Obviously, I was chasing all day and I was trying to push, even though I didn't play my best.
"With that birdie on 14, I was hoping I was going to be able to make it a bit interesting coming into the last couple of holes."