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By Kent Gray
The 2020 Desert Swing has been kind to two of the European Tour’s elder statesmen with Graeme McDowell doing in King Abdullah Economic City on Sunday what Lee Westwood did in Abu Dhabi three weeks ago.

A gritty, grinding even-par 70 on a blustery final day at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club enabled McDowell to hang onto his 54-hole lead and capture the 2nd Saudi International.

The 40-year-old Northern Irishman finished on -12, two strokes clear of defending champion Dustin Johnson who eagled the last for a Sunday 67 to finish second by a further shot from Belgian Thomas Pieters (65), fellow American Phil Mickelson (67) and Malaysia’s Gavin Green (70).

It was McDowell’s 11th European Tour title –  2,037 days since his last win, a successful Open de France defence in July 2014. It also means McDowell has won on tour in three decades; he has 10 years to wait to try and emulate Westwood who achieved wins in each of the past four decades in Abu Dhabi.

Currently ranked world No. 104, McDowell is set to sneak back into the top 50 (provisionally 46th) for the first time since mid 2015. The 2010 U.S. Open champion, who has won his 16 professional titles in 13 countries, is clearly not intent on fading back into the background after his first victory since turning 30.

“It’s special,” McDowell said. “I’ve been working hard the last year and a half. I want to be back up there one more time just to be able to play against these guys.

“The game of golf is in such great shape, there are so many great players in the world, it’s so exciting to be a top player in the world and I want to be back up there again.”