Wiebserger wins; Dunne in survival battle; Sharvin locks up card
Bernd Wiesberger. Picture: Getty Images
Shane Lowry is playing catch-up and Paul Dunne battling to save his card after Bernd Wiesberger claimed the Italian Open to soar to the top of the Race to Dubai.
The Austrian took advantage of Jon Rahm's absence and Lowry's first missed cut since the Masters by closing with a bogey-free, six-under 65 to win by a shot from overnight leader Matthew Fitzpatrick on 16-under par.
"I can't ask for more than being in a position to play for The Race to Dubai title at the end of the year," said Wiesberger (34), who plans to play the last four events.
Fitzpatrick, who had birdied the second, was left to rue a double-bogey seven at the ninth, where he drove out of bounds.
The Englishman birdied three of his last six holes to close with a 69 and claim his fourth runner-up finish since last November.
But he never unduly worried Wiesberger, who birdied the 14th and 16th to secure his third victory since May as Graeme McDowell tied for 15th on seven-under after a 71.
With only the top 117 in the Race to Dubai projected to keep their cards, Dunne finds himself 116th and desperately seeking one more cheque to avoid a trip Q-School.
Emilio Cuartero Blanco
The Greystones star (26), who has teamed up with veteran caddie Dave McNeilly, was certain three weeks ago he had already done enough to keep his card
But having missed his last four cuts in a row and 10 of 12 since he tied for fourth behind Wiesberger at the Made in Denmark in May, he now needs a result in the Open de France or the Portugal Masters over the next fortnight to be safe.
In contrast, Dunne's former Walker Cup teammate Cormac Sharvin tied for fifth in the weather-curtailed Stone Irish Challenge at Headfort to secure promotion to the European Tour.
The Ardglass star's sixth top-five and his eighth top-10 of the season moved him from eighth to fifth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings with the top 15 guaranteed cards.
Torrential afternoon rain flooded the course with the leaders on the third and with the course quickly becoming unplayable and light running out, the 54-hole scores were declared final.
"That's my card secure now so that's a relief and I can go to China and play freely and try to push on now and win the Order of Merit," said Sharvin, who also won the Christy O'Connor Jnr Memorial Trophy awarded to the low-Irishman.
He finished three shots behind overnight leaders Emilio Cuartero Blanco of Spain and Sweden's Oscar Lengden, who played off for the title at the 195-yard 17th — one of the few holes still playable.
After making par on their first two visits, the Spaniard claiming the €32,000 winner's cheque and his maiden win with a birdie two from 12 feet.
On the PGA Tour, Seamus Power opened his 2019-20 account at the Houston Open when finished bogey-bogey for a level par 72 and tie for 61st on one-over par as Lanto Griffin claimed his maiden title by a shot from Scott Harrington and Mark Hubbard on 14-under after closing 69.
