Ireland’s Shane Lowry managed to hold off FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club by a single stroke.
The 35-year-old birdied the final hole on the last day to finish with a 7-under 65 and a 17-under total of 199 after the tournament was reduced to a three-day event following Queen Elizabeth’s death.
He then had to wait as McIlroy tried to force a playoff but his attempted eagle putt stopped just a few feet away from the cup to give Lowry his first win since the British Open in 2019.
McIlroy and Jon Rahm finished tied for second, one shot back while Talor Gooch, who plays on the LIV circuit, finished fourth another shot back.
Day 1 co-leader Viktor Hovland led a long list of people who finished tied for fifth.
Jon Rahm had to lowest score on the final day and set the challenge for Lowry early on. The Spaniard finished with a 10-under 62 to surge up the leaderboards with an eagle putt on the 18th giving him a two-shot lead. He then had to wait more than two hours to see if it would be good enough to win the BMW PGA Championship only for Shane Lowry to spoil the occasion.
It was a first win for Lowry at Wentworth in his 13th appearance in the European Tour’s flagship event, having finished second to McIlroy in 2014.
