Denmark's Thomas Bjorn admitted he could not believe his eyes on Sunday as Tiger Woods gifted him the Dubai Desert Classic with a last-hole seven.

The world number one is still looking for his first win of the year after a nightmare finish which was as dramatic as it was unexpected.

Even when Bjorn holed a nine-foot putt to level on the 17th the much longer Woods remained favourite for the £166,660 title with the 547-yard 18th to come.

Instead, however, he carved his drive into the trees, then went across the fairway into rough the other side and from there hit a 150-yard nine-iron short of the green - in water.

"I couldn't believe what I was watching," said Bjorn, who calmly made his par five to pick up a crown which meant so much to him. For the last three years Dubai has been his winter base.

The 30-year-old became only the fourth player to give Woods a lead going into the final day and beat him - and even more impressive was that he went head-to-head with him all four days and came out on top.

"Not many have done that either," he said with a huge smile, knowing that the victory is a huge step towards regaining his Ryder Cup place later in the year.

Woods kept his comments short before setting off on the long journey back home, where he will make sure his mind looks ahead to the Masters next month - his attempt to hold all four majors at the same time - rather than back.

"I didn't hit the proper tee shot at the 18th," he said. "I hit a pretty good third shot, but I was protecting against a flyer - and I didn't get it.

"I had an opportunity, but I just made a couple of mistake which cost me. I didn't feel as comfortable as I needed to with my swing and my putting stroke, but hats off to Thomas.

"He played well and he deserves the title. He played really solid all day."

Bjorn's closing 69 to Woods's level-par 72 meant he finished with a tournament record total of 266, 22 under.

The double bogey seven meant that Woods, rumoured to have been paid in excess of £1.5million to appear in the event and four clear after seven holes of the third round, did not even take second place on his own.

He had to share that with Dubliner Padraig Harrington, who had been joint leader himself entering the back nine, but made costly bogeys at the 12th and 15th.

Ian Woosnam, 43 last Friday, was only one behind with eight to play, but he bogeyed the 15th and 16th and in the end finished joint fourth with Swede Mathias Gronberg.

"A lot of people have asked me if I chose it deliberately. I was all out of whites!" he said with a big smile.

"This is the best performance of my life by far. I know I can look him in the eye and take him on.

"He is still by far the best player in the world and people should not forget that, but the intimidation is disappearing.

"There's a lot of talk about him being in a slump, but that's way out of proportion. He is still playing fantastic golf - he just has not won."

Bjorn trailed Woods and Harrington by two at the turn, but then crucially eagled the long 10th from 20 feet.

They matched each other on the next six holes, but when Woods fired his pitch to 10 feet on the 17th Bjorn got inside him and by missing Woods opened the door.

Bjorn's putt was bang in the middle. "I know that under the cosh I am very good and when I got a good drive away down the last it put him under pressure at exactly the right time."

It was all so different to when they went head-to-head in the last group on the third day of the US Open last June. Bjorn shot 82.

Woods went on to win and then added the Open and US PGA, but Bjorn was second and third in those and he was now taken the confidence he gained from that up another notch.

He is now pushing hard to join the top 10 in the world rankings and he could not be looking forward more to what will be only his third Masters.

Harrington, who in the last three weeks has gone second, fifth, second, said: "There was good and bad about the way I played.

"I was in a really good flow until I lost my rhythm on the 14th tee. There was somebody just behind the tee who raised their hands to their eyes just as I was driving.

"I got away with par there, but then I pulled a seven-iron at the next and didn't make a good drive down the 16th."

He expected to finish third, but thanks to Woods the result was better and he and Bjorn are now up to third and fourth in the Ryder Cup points table and close to securing their places in the team six months ahead of the match.

Woosnam has already been named vice-captain by Sam Torrance, but believes he might yet win a ninth cap.

"I made a couple of blunders late on and am a bit disappointed because I'd got right into it, but there are some good signs."

He has not won for nearly four years, but this week will be at the Qatar Masters, where he was second last season. Bjorn will also be there.

The start of Lee Westwood's defence of the Order of Merit began with a 17th place finish at 13 under, while Colin Montgomerie, the man whose seven-year reign he ended, was 21st on 12 under.

Sheffield's Mark Roe, in his first tournament back from 21 months out with a serious hand injury caused by his springer spaniel dog, finished on five under. But just making the cut was a triumph.

Collated final scores and totals in the Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates club, Dubai, UAE (Gbr and Irl unless stated, par 72):

266 T Bjorn (Den) 64 66 67 69 (£166,660)

268 P Harrington 66 69 64 69, T Woods (USA) 64 64 68 72 (£86,855 each)

270 M Gronberg (Swe) 68 68 66 68, I Woosnam 69 68 64 69 (£46,200 each)

271 B Davis 69 65 67 70, J Singh (Ind) 67 66 67 71

272 T Immelman (Rsa) 66 73 68 65

273 E Boult (Nzl) 69 69 70 65, A Cabrera (Arg) 66 70 65 72, P McGinley 70 64 67 72

274 R Green (Aus) 67 73 67 67, E Darcy 68 67 70 69, G Owen 70 68 67 69, J-F Remesy (Fra) 68 68 68 70, A Hansen (Den) 70 66 67 71

275 D Lynn 70 71 66 68, L Westwood 66 70 69 70, A Oldcorn 71 66 68 70, R Goosen (Rsa) 70 68 67 70

276 R Claydon 67 70 71 68, P Lawrie 70 67 71 68, P Price 66 72 69 69, R Gonzalez (Arg) 71 67 69 69, J Bickerton 68 67 70 71, C Montgomerie 69 70 65 72, G Emerson 70 67 65 74

277 T Jaidee (Tha) 73 67 68 69, D Robertson 69 68 69 71, S Hansen (Den) 69 69 68 71, J Spence 72 66 68 71, R Muntz (Ned) 71 69 66 71

278 A Forsbrand (Swe) 71 67 72 68, T Van der Walt (Rsa) 68 72 70 68, J Moseley (Aus) 69 70 70 69, A Coltart 70 69 70 69, W Bennett 70 69 69 70, S Struver (Ger) 71 68 68 71, Yeh Wei-tze (Tai) 70 70 67 71, J Senden (Aus) 68 71 67 72, N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 70 65 73, T Johnstone (Zim) 71 69 63 75

279 D Howell 69 69 72 69, T Dier (Ger) 68 72 67 72, D Smyth 69 69 68 73, C Suneson (Spa) 69 72 65 73

280 R Wessels (Rsa) 70 70 70 70, B Dredge 70 65 73 72, I Garrido (Spa) 68 73 67 72, R Coles 68 70 68 74

281 M Bernardini (Ita) 70 70 70 71, C Rodiles (Spa) 67 70 72 72, R Russell 68 69 72 72, Z Lian-wei (Chn) 70 69 70 72

282 K Wook-soon (Kor) 72 69 71 70, S Webster 71 70 68 73, F Jacobson (Swe) 70 71 66 75

283 P Lonard (Aus) 68 71 72 72, M Roe 71 69 71 72, R Bain 71 69 71 72, M Reale (Ita) 72 69 70 72, D Clarke 71 69 70 73, G Evans 70 66 72 75, J Hugo (Rsa) 70 67 71 75, JM Lara (Spa) 66 72 68 77

284 D Borrego (Spa) 72 69 73 70, T Levet (Fra) 73 68 72 71

285 J Rystrom (Swe) 69 70 72 74, M McNulty (Zim) 66 74 71 74, C Hanell (Swe) 71 70 69 75

286 P Haugsrud (Nor) 70 71 77 68, P Mitchell 68 72 73 73, L Parsons (Aus) 70 70 73 73, T Gogele (Ger) 69 70 73 74, C Rocca (Ita) 70 71 70 75, R Jacquelin (Fra) 67 72 71 76

287 M Lafeber (Ned) 70 69 74 74, J Rose 71 70 71 75, D Lee 71 70 70 76

288 J Haeggman (Swe) 71 67 77 73, J Sandelin (Swe) 69 72 72 75

289 I Poulter 71 69 72 77