David Law’s hopes of a second win on the DP World Tour ended in disappointment as Nicolai Hojgaard won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship by four shots.
Aberdonian Law went into the final round three shots adrift of the 20-year-old Dane but had closed the gap to one shot by the turn.
Law recovered from a dropped shot at the second with a birdie at the fourth followed by an eagle two at the fifth.
Hojgaard had extended his advantage to five shots with an early eagle but a double bogey six on the ninth saw his lead cut to just one stroke.
But Law’s challenge faded over the back nine after three consecutive bogeys from the 11th before another dropped shot at 16. A closing birdie saw him finish tied seventh on 16 under after a closing round of one-over 73.
Hojgaard held off the challenge of Jordan Smith to card a 68 and finish 24 under – four ahead of the Englishman who stormed up the leaderboard with a final round 66.
Hojgaard bounced back from a bogey at 12 with a birdie at the 13th before producing the shot of the day on his way to an outstanding eagle on the next, and he suddenly found himself with a two-shot advantage after Smith, three groups ahead of the Dane, had bogeyed the 15th.
And from there Hojgaard was able to cruise to victory, making further birdies at the 17th and 18th to sign for a closing 68 and finish the week on 24 under par.
Hojgaard is now a two-time DP World Tour winner following last year’s DS Automobiles Italian Open victory.
Smith, who began the day six shots off the lead, finished in outright second, three clear of the group in third.
Among the four-way tie for third was Li Haotong, who shot a sparkling 63 on Sunday to tie the course record.
After clinching victory, Hojgaard said: “It’s very sweet.
“It’s been such a tough grind today.
“I got off to a good start and then I struggled quite a bit.
“I had to dig deep out there, the turning point was on 13 where I saw that Jordan Smith made a run and was two up, and I stepped up with a clutch finish so I’m really happy.
“I was thinking that I was throwing the tournament away when I made double-bogey and then bogey on 12.
“I had to dig deep and my good friend Christian on the bag did a brilliant job keep me focused on motivated for the finish and it turned out pretty good.
Sit back and enjoy 😍
The two moments of magic that saw Nicolai Højgaard set up a pair of eagles on the way to victory.#RakGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/ezwsyxUKjW
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 6, 2022
“The shot at 14, I don’t know what to say about it.
“We had a decent lie and it was a bit down in the desert.
“I hit a good five iron and suddenly I hit it to two and half metres for an eagle and it was pretty special.
“I’m quite excited for the future now.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it, but obviously when you’re playing good you start looking at all the rankings. I’m motivated to keep going and get better and hopefully quality for those big tournaments.”
Law said: “Obviously I didn’t finish that great.
“It’s disappointing just now but it is three positive weeks to start the year.”
Oban’s Robert MacIntyre finished tied 13th on 13 under after a final round of 73 with Scott Jamieson and Craig Howie finishing two shots further back.
Connor Syme closed with a 68 to sit tied 27th on 10 under.
