Muntz Wins First In Qatar

March 9, 2000 / 5:51 PM EST / CBS/AP

Rolf Muntz won for the first time on the European Tour, beating Ian Woosnam by five strokes Sunday to capture the $1 million Qatar Masters.

He is the first Dutch winner of an official European Tournament since Joop Ruhl won the Dutch Open in 1947.

"For myself, the win is great, and I hope it is the first of many," said Muntz, who plays out of Belgium. "For Dutch golf, I think it is very, very positive."

Muntz withstood tricky desert winds to finish with a par-72 for a 280 total. He started the day with a six-stroke lead.

"I looked at the trophy after the first day and had my doubts about winning it, but not today," Muntz said.

He earned $125,000 and became the sixth first-time winner in 10 events on the European Tour this year.

"I just played my game today and didn't think about beating anyone else," he said. "You shouldn't start worrying about other people because you cannot have any control over them."

Muntz and Woosnam were the only players to finish under par. Woosnam of Wales was at 285. Australia's Stephen Leaney and Argentina's Eduardo Romero shared third at 1-over 289.

"I played well and would have thought that score would have had a chance of winning in this wind," Woosnam said. "But Muntz played solid stuff and I can't complain."