synthesized using the buildingblock approach, starting from chiral fluorinated molecules. The key steps of the synthetic sequence were condensation of 2-methyl-5-(4-methylphenylsulfinyl)pent-2-ene (1) and ethyl 2-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-2,2-difluoroacetate (2), reduction of the thus formed ketones 3 to alcohols 4, reductive removal of the sulfur moiety to give hydroxy phosphonates 6, and oxidative cyclization