Iben Tinning reserved her best for last. The former European champion, playing her last competitive event, made a solid charge down the stretch to win the 2010 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Club on Saturday.
The genial Dane couldn't have asked for a better finish to a career spanning 15 years when she sunk a 20-footer for a birdie for a back-to-back 69 to go 11-under for the tournament, a good two shots ahead of second-placed Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and three of England's Melissa Reid, who gave her good fight before fading away in the closing stages.
The tournament's top-draw Michelle Wie made a stunning charge up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 67 - the final day's best score - but still came up short and had to settle for tied fifth place along with defending champion In-Kyung Kim of South Korea. Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presented the elegant trophy to Tinning. Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Vice Chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, Raynald Aeschlimann, Vice President, OMEGA, and Mohamed Yahya of Dubal were also present. It was a fairytale ending to Tinning's career that held the spotlight. With her husband Lasse in the bag, Tinning made the turn tied for the lead with Melissa Reid at nine under, but back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th saw her establish a clear three-shot lead as Reid bogeyed the 10th.
Indeed, winning the last event of her career and that too in a field which comprised big guns like Michelle Wie, In-Kyung Kim and Laura Davies was nothing short of a fairytale.