Karlsson lifts title after Poulter blunders

Swedens Robert Karlsson won the Dubai World Championship Sunday,beating third-round leader Ian Poulter in a two-way playoff after a bizarre blunder by the Englishman on the final hole.

Swedens Robert Karlsson won the Dubai World Championship Sunday,beating third-round leader Ian Poulter in a two-way playoff after a bizarre blunder by the Englishman on the final hole. Karlsson calmly rolled in a birdie putt on the second playoff hole after Poulter had been given a one-stroke penalty for dropping his ball on his marker on the green,causing it to flip over and move from its original position.

Poulter spotted his error and reported it to the match referee,whose ruling left him with a long putt for par instead of a birdie. The putt came up a foot short,taking all the pressure off the Swede as he then had two shots to clinch the victory in the season-ending $7.5m tourney.

Ian Poulter called me over just after he had marked the ball on the 18th and told me he had dropped his ball onto the ball marker which caused the ball marker to move. It just flipped over, Chief Referee Andy McFee said in a statement. This incurred a one-stroke penalty and the ball marker was replaced. Ians 30-foot putt was there for a five.

The 41-year-old needed just one shot to secure his second European Tour victory this year and the 11th tour victory of his career. The former top-ranked European said this was one of the biggest victories of his long career and one of the most lucrative. He earned $1.25 million with the win. This must be the highest one I would think if you just look on the quality of the field thats been here,world No. 1,world No. 3 or 4 or whatever it is, he said. The winning putt was Karlssons third straight birdie on the 18th,having caught up to Poulter on his last hole in regulation when his approach shot landed within a few feet of the pin.