Dougherty repels old guard for first Tour victory

England's Nick Dougherty shot a final round five-under-par 67 yesterday to take his first-ever European Tour victory at the Singapore Masters.

England's Nick Dougherty shot a final round five-under-par 67 yesterday to take his first-ever European Tour victory at the Singapore Masters.

Colin Montgomerie, the defending champion, challenged throughout but ended up five strokes back after a two-under 70 and tied for second with Maarten Lafeber of the Netherlands.

Thomas Bjorn, of Denmark, started the day tied with Montgomerie for second, but suffered a pair of double bogeys that left him fourth, seven strokes behind Dougherty, who finished at 18-under-par.

Dougherty grabbed the lead after the second round and never let go, consistently finding the greens and holing out well. Although admitting to some nerves playing alongside Bjorn and Montgomerie, the 22-year-old hardly stumbled in a bogey-free round of five birdies yesterday. "I'm delighted," Dougherty said. "When you're playing with Colin and Thomas you don't think it's over until it's over."

¿ Ian Poulter charged into contention with a nine-under-par 63 in the fourth round of the Bob Hope Classic. His round included two eagles on the front nine.

The Englishman, 29, is five shots behind leader Joe Ogilvie going into the final round of the 90-hole event, which is being played on four par-72 courses.