Tour Wrap-Up: Lowry levels up with win at the WGC

Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements 

WGC

IT HAS taken him a while, but Shane Lowry is now a winner on the PGA Tour. Not just in any old tournament, mind you. The Irishman produced a sparkling final round of 66 to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone by two shots from Bubba Watson.

With it, he pockets a huge cheque for around £1m, a bucketload of world ranking points, a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour and 500 FedEx Cup points. More important that all of that, however, is that he has shaken a monkey from his back. Lowry kept going close and has played some magnificent golf in 2015 without being able to finish the job off. Well, he has now, and he will head to Whistling Straits for the US PGA Championship this week in great heart. It is the 12th time a European has won a World Golf Championship event.

He picked up two shots on the front nine and then birdied the 10th hole to take him to 10 under par. It was at that point that Lowry realised what he was about to achieve. A swing that had been rock steady all week suddenly became short and edgy, but he kept making pars, including a vital one at the 14th when he holed a 20-foot putt. Crucially, nobody else was making any sort of a real challenge.

Highlights of Shane Lowry's breakthrough win at the WGC Invitational 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3vp5VumVkE

The decisive moment came at the 17th. His second shot finished at the back of the green, nestling against a collar of rough. He chipped the ball eight feet from the hole and drained the putt to go to the final hole leading by one.

Lowry hit a horribly hooked drive at the 18th but was fortunate that his golf ball struck the trees and ricocheted backwards, giving him a shot to the green. Could he take advantage of the break he had been given? He surely could, producing a shot that clipped some leaves on its way through before coming to rest 12 feet away. With the pressure lifted, he holed the putt.

Watson produced the sort of golf that only he can. A perfect example came at the 17th, where he smashed a wayward drive onto the 16th fairway. He appeared to be blocked out by a huge tree but somehow knocked the ball over it to six feet and holed the putt for a birdie to reduce the gap to Lowry to a single shot.

Watson then hit his driver 379 yards at the 18th - yes, 379 yards. It left him only 75 yards to the pin but he was only able to get the ball 25 feet from the hole and failed to make the putt. A round of 66 took him to nine under par. Incredibly, Watson averaged 331.3 yards from the tee at Firestone.

The day began with Jim Furyk and Justin Rose tied for the lead. For Rose it was a day to forget. He needed birdies - instead, he spent the round grinding out pars, dropping the odd shot and going backwards in a hurry. Furyk must hate this event - he has twice thrown it away, worst of all when he came to the last needing a par to win and finished with a double-bogey.

Furyk didn't play badly, but he had lost the spark that took him to the top of the leaderboard and lost ground. And when he did put himself position, he was unable to hole the putts that counted.

Rose had fallen all the way back to seven under, but gave himself some hope with a birdie at the 16th to reduce the deficit to two.

Lowry won the Irish Open as an amateur and has also won in Portugal, but this victory will change his life for ever. Prepare to see the floodgates open for this likeable Irishman. He plays the game in the right way and simply shrugs his shoulders and gets on with it when things don't go his way.

"It is hard to believe," he said. "I played well out there but I know that I had some luck. I felt the pressure coming down the closing holes. This is really exciting for me, for my family and for everybody who has supported me over the years."

Challenge Tour

Clement Sordet secured his maiden win in just his fourth start as a professional at the Northern Ireland Open at Galcorm Castle. In front of big crowds, Sordet shot a final round of 67 to record a 17-under-par total in this Challenge Tour event.

He beat John Hahn by a shot thanks to four birdies and an eagle.

"I am living my dream," said the 22-year-old Frenchman. "It feels amazing to win, just amazing, but it is going to take time for this to sink in. I made some good putts and had three putts for eagle, which shows how well I played."

Champions Tour

Jeff Maggert produced a final round of 64 to win the Shaw Charity Classic on the Champions Tour, condemning overnight leader Colin Montgomerie to second place. Monty retains his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, but will be unhappy with his play at Canyon Meadows, Calgary, over the last 18 holes.

The Scot began the day 12 under par, and that was where he finished. He led Maggert by two and finished the day four adrift. Miguel Angel Jimenez will also head to the US PGA Championship feeling disappointed - he fired a sensational 61 to tie Montgomerie after 36 holes, but a final round of 74 saw him tumble down the leaderboard.