No joy for Lowry but McDowell rejuvenated as Hatton wins at Wentworth
Tyrrell Hatton with the BMW PGA Championship trophy. Picture: Getty Images
Shane Lowry’s putting touch abandoned him but Graeme McDowell rediscovered his as Tyrrell Hatton held off Victor Perez to claim the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Lowry went into the final round four shots behind Hatton on 10-under par but after rifling his 190-yard approach to six feet at the first, he missed the slippery putt, then failed from five feet for par at the next, eventually carding a one-over 73 to finish tied 13th on nine-under (€84,491).
It was a disappointing weekend for the Clara man, who joins Rory McIlroy at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas for this week’s limited-field CJ Cup looking to rediscover that stellar putting form of the first two days at Wentworth.
But it was a positive last day for McDowell (41), who matched Hatton’s 67 to finish tied 24th on six-under, breaking a run of six missed cuts in a row, as Pádraig Harrington’s 71 left him joint 40th on two-under.
“The way I played that round is what’s been missing the last few months and tournaments, I also found my putter this week,” McDowell said after topping the putting charts to give himself the belief that he can now win on Wentworth’s bentgrass greens.
“You’re going out every Friday feeling like there is a gun pointed at your head and unfortunately missing halfway cuts brings just making a cut more into your mind and that is what you start focusing on.
“It’s why weekends like this week are just so important for longevity and certainly for the confidence moving forward.
“So, I enjoyed it and it’s probably the most I’ve ever enjoyed Wentworth given also the way they’ve managed to accept the changes and kind of balance them out to get the golf course just right.
“It was the first time playing the golf course at this time of the year and the greens putted just fantastic, and that is one of the reasons I felt I could not compete at Wentworth because the spring poa annua greens were always tough for me to putt one but these were great surfaces to putt on.
“I now look forward to coming back here with a chance to really be in contention. There’s never a golf course I can see myself playing around and now I can potentially see myself winning around this golf course, and I’m excited about that.”
As for Hatton, he saw Perez wipe out his three-shot overnight lead in the first four holes before making four birdies in seven holes from the fifth, then recovering from a bogey at the 13th to impressively play the last five holes in two-under, securing a move into the world’s top-10.
"It's very special to be standing here holding this,” said Hatton, who birdied at the 18th for a 67 and a four-shot win over Perez on 19-under par. “It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid to play the tournament and hopefully win it one day, and thankfully this year is my year.”
In the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship at Aronimink, South Korea’s Sei Young Kim closed with a 63 to win her first Major title by five strokes on 14-under from compatriot Inbee Park as Leona Maguire failed to make a weekend birdie and followed Saturday’s 76 with a 74 to finish tied 65th in 12-over.
On the PGA Tour Champions, overnight co-leader Darren Clarke closed with a two-over 74 to finish tied 11th, five shots behind Ernie Els on seven-under in the SAS Championship in North Carolina.
Els birdied the 17th, then made a 45 footer for another birdie on the 18th, carding a 66 at Prestonwood Country Club to win his second Champions Tour title by a shot from Colin Montgomerie on 12-under.
The Scot came to the 18th needing a birdie to force a playoff but playing in heavy rain, his 190-yard approach finished 50 feet left of the pin and he failed to make the putt.
