Stenson, who has lived in Dubai for three years, began the day two shots behind Els. But the Swede had five birdies at the Emirates Golf Club to finish at 19-under 269.

"It's just unbelievable to win in your home tournament," said Stenson, who is a member of the Emirates Golf Club. "It's always nice to beat Tiger. And to play four rounds with Ernie and to beat him by one shot coming down the stretch, that's also satisfying."

Els (71) had three bogeys, the same as Woods (69), who shared third place with Niclas Fasth (68) at 17 under. Woods, who had a difficult time putting despite the quality of the greens, said it was one of his most frustrating tournaments.

"That's one of the worst putting weeks I've had in a long time," Woods said. "I'm going to go home and just kind of figure it out. Hopefully get my putting organized before I compete again."

Woods said he handled the poor greens at Torrey Pines the previous week, when he won the Buick Invitational for his seventh consecutive U.S. PGA Tour event. The Dubai Desert Classic doesn't count against his streak.

"It's frustrating because normally I don't really putt well on poor greens, like I did last week," Woods said. "And I come over here to the best greens we've seen in a long time and I miss a bunch."

Ross Fisher (71) finished fifth at 16 under after leading the tournament for the first two days. Peter Hanson (71) was two more shots back in sixth place.

Fisher, a little-known golfer who once fetched practice range balls for Woods, said he was awed to be paired with the top-ranked American -- and leading him for most of the day.

"For 15 holes I was toe-to-toe with him," Fisher said. "I almost had to pinch myself to believe I was about six or so shots ahead of the world No. 1, which was totally unbelievable."

Strong wind got the sand blowing, making conditions difficult. Els, who started the day in the lead, had an especially tough day, narrowly missing a series of putts that cost him the lead.

"I really got out of sorts on the greens and had a couple of bad swings," said Els, a three-time winner of the Desert Classic.

Stenson said the blustery weather was strange for normally placid Dubai and reminded him of Scotland.

"It was all about sticking in there," Stenson said. "That was the mind-set I had going into the week: Try to grind it out, give myself chances and try to wear out the other guys. I guess I succeeded."

On the ninth hole, Stenson's drive to the green got blown onto the roof of a spectators' pavilion. The referee forced the Swede to make a precarious climb to the roof to identify his ball before allowing him a penalty-free drop. Stenson said he scraped his ribs making the climb.

"I got a little upset that I had to go up there," he said.

Stenson's victory came down to the par-5 18th, with Stenson a stroke ahead of Els. The South African hit a 60-foot chip shot from the rear of the green that just missed being an eagle. Stenson then hit a 5-foot birdie, and Els followed with a birdie to finish one stroke behind.

"I thought I was perfect," Els said. "But it came up a little short."

Woods vied for the lead most of the day, despite bogeying the first, 10th and 11th holes. On the 11th, Woods' chip from the edge of the green went awry, dribbling into a sand trap. He tossed his club in frustration after another bogey.

"I was trying to hit a soft little chip-and-run and just muffed it right into the bunker," he said.

On the 13th, with tennis player Roger Federer and former race car driver Michael Schumacher looking on, Woods barely missed a 30-foot eagle putt, the ball resting on the rim of the cup and Woods falling to his knees in dismay. The American tapped the ball in for a birdie, then strolled over to greet Federer.

On the 15th, Woods chipped in from 35 feet for birdie and appeared to be within striking distance. On the next hole, he hit his second shot from the fairway to within 5 feet of the cup, but his birdie putt missed.