Dubai (UAE): Just 11 months after lifting his third Dubai Desert Classic, Ernie Els (yesterday) maintained his winning streak in the emirate by joining forces with compatriot Retief Goosen to win the Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa Challenge Match.

The two South Africans were in imperious form during the nine-hole shoot-out over the Resort Course combining to fire a five-under-par 31 to edge out Ryder Cup pair Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke by one shot (-4) in the now-customary pre-Desert Classic greensomes event.

The win was secured when Els birdied the ninth after Bjorn failed with his own birdie attempt. The other pairing of world number one Tiger Woods and former Masters and Open champion Mark O’Meara could have tied with Bjorn and Clarke but Woods narrowly missed his eagle putt on the last to leave the all-American pairing finishing on three-under-par.

Despite the overcast conditions, it was a sparkling performance by all six as they thrilled a crowd of around 2,000 spectators and raised Dh180,000 for charity, part of a special Birdie, Eagle, Albatross Challenge sponsored by Nakheel.

But while Els and Goosen were delighted to collect the Challenge Match trophy – equalling the event’s course record in the process - none of the six players managed a hole-in-one in the $1 million competition also sponsored by Nakheel.

“Although no-one managed a hole-in-one, it was a fabulous display of golf considering most of the players had just flown into the country,” said Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa Director of Golf James Williams.

“The players holed a number of great putts, their interaction with the crowd was a lot of fun and they earned Dh180,000 for charity – that’s what I call a great Challenge Match.”

Today (Wednesday) all six will again be in action this time over the Majlis Course at the Emirates Golf Club as they compete in the Emaar-sponsored Pro-Am event, which will give the star players their last feel for the Majlis Course as well as the Gulf weather conditions before the serious business gets underway with the opening round of the $2.4 million Dubai Desert Classic tomorrow (Thursday).

Besides Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) as the main sponsor of the Dubai Desert Classic, CNN International, Emaar, Dubai Waterfront by Nakheel, and Samsung as co-sponsors, other sponsors include: Emirates as official airline and Hole In One Sponsor; official caterer, hotel and challenge match sponsor Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa; Official Bank National Bank of Dubai; official courtesy car BMW; and event newspaper Gulf News.