| -17 S Lowry (Ire); -16 J Rahm (Spa), R McIlroy (NI); -15 T Gooch (US); -14 P Reed (US), T Detry (Bel) |
| Selected others: -12 L Westwood (Eng), M Southgate (Eng); -11 D Horsey (Eng), S Horsfield (Eng); -10 G Forrest; -9 I Poulter (Eng); -8 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -7 G McDowell (NI) |
| Full leaderboard |
Shane Lowry birdied the 18th to beat Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy to the BMW PGA Championship title by one stroke.
Spaniard Rahm made two eagles and seven birdies, playing the last 10 holes in nine under, for a closing 62 as he set a testing clubhouse target on 16 under.
But Lowry kept his cool and found the par-5 18th in two then two-putted to sign for a 65 and finish 17 under.
Northern Irishman McIlroy had a good chance of an eagle to tie Ireland’s Lowry but his putt narrowly missed.
The event at Wentworth in Surrey was suspended on Thursday evening following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch.
Players, caddies and officials paid tribute to the Queen with a two-minute silence when play resumed on Saturday, with the tournament reduced to 54 holes.
It was Lowry, 35, who finished at the top of a high-class leaderboard in the DP World Tour’s flagship event as he claimed his first win since the 2019 Open Championship.
He told Sky Sports: “I am the happiest man in the world. It means a lot to win, it has been a good year, I have been close a few times and I really wanted to try and win one.
“This one was right at he top of the list, I love it here and contended in the past. The bad over the shots over the years started creeping into my head but I am so happy.
“I got to 16 and was trying to get past then had to worry bout Rory behind me, who can do anything on the last few holes. I tried my best and hit the shots. I am playing the best golf of my life.”
The tournament was played against a backdrop of 18 players from the Saudi Arabian-backed breakaway LIV Golf Series competing as their suspensions had been lifted and were able to play.
One of the LIV players, American Talor Gooch, shot a closing 67 to take him to 15 under and fourth place.
Lowry said after his triumph: “I made no secrets how I feel about the whole thing and wanted to go and win the tournament for myself and and those who have stayed loyal and done everything for the tour. This is one for the good guys.”
McIlroy has been a staunch opponent of LIV Golf and said in the lead-up to the tournament that competing against players from the breakaway would be “hard for me to stomach”.
On the course it was almost the perfect response from the four-time major winner, but an eagle and four birdies in a final round that saw him hit several poor iron shots were not enough for the four-time major champion to win a sixth event of his season.
