Shane Lowry wins the 2022 BMW PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm tied in 2nd place
An impressive result for the Irishman who has never won at Wentworth before, while there will likely be frustration for McIlroy who came so close.
It was somewhat of a photo finish at Wentworth on Sunday as it came down to the wire between Lowry and McIlroy with the former finally clinching victory after the Northern Irishman barely missed a put.
Shane Lowry wins 2022 BMW PGA Championship
On Sunday, Shane Lowry tapped in for birdie at the 18th hole and then was forced to bite his nails, as he waited to see if Rory McIlroy could do the business in an effort to force a playoff at Wentworth. In the end, the Northern Irishman could only crouch and stare in disbelief, as his long eagle putt attempt made its agonizingly slow creep towards the cup, finally coming to halt on the very cusp of it. Despair for McIlroy and a moment of joy for Lowry, who could be seen hugging his caddie in scorer’s tent knowing that victory was his.
With the one-shot win, Lowry got his first win since claiming the British Open in 2019 and on the back of a bogey-free performance to boot. Interestingly, Lowry was quick to reference LIV Golf in his comments after the win. Lowry and McIlroy have of course been quite vocal during the week about the fact that LIV Golfers were allowed to take part in the tournament. “I wanted to go out and win this tournament for myself, first and foremost, but I think for this tour and everyone that has stayed loyal to this tour,” Lowry said. “I really feel like this is one for the good guys.”
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm tied for 2nd
As mentioned above, McIlroy came tantalizingly close to forcing a playoff, but in the end was unable to do so. Just one shot back, as was the case with Jon Rahm with whom he was tied for second, McIlroy put in a spirited showing at Wentworth across the three days. Talor Gooch, who now plays with LIV Golf was another shot back in fourth place. Fans will recall, that the tournament was cut to 54 holes with no play on Friday, following the death of Quen Elizabeth II on Thursday.
For his part Rahm made a late surge with a 62, as he sunk an eagle putt on the 18th to take a two-shot clubhouse lead at under 16. He then sat through more than two hours, as he waited to see whether his efforts would be enough for a win, but in the end Lowry’s excellent shot on the 18th brought an end to his hopes. Ultimately, Lowry finished with a 7-under 65 for a 17-under total of 199. “I said to my coach this morning, `I need to just allow myself to play golf today,’” Lowry said. “I’m playing the best golf of my life, I need to just allow myself to do that. And I did that.”
Close but no cigar: Rory McIlroy happy despite near miss
After an impressive drive onto the green from 242 yards, Lowry rolled an eagle putt to within a few inches of the hole which effectively set up a tap-in birdie for the lead. At that point, McIlroy who was playing in the pairing behind Lowry knew - once Lowry birdied the last hole - that he would need to eagle the par-5 18th. As mentioned above, he came extremely close. “I thought three feet out even that that putt was going in the hole,” said McIlroy, who won his third FedEx Cup title last month. “It just sort of wriggled right on me at the end. But overall it’s been another really good week.”
Where Lowry is concerned, the victory marks his first at Wentworth, having appeared some 13 times in the European Tour’s biggest event. Incidentally, he finished second to McIlroy back in 2014 which is to say he will likely be very pleased with his win on Sunday. “I love it here, I’ve contended in the past,” Lowry said. “The bad shots that I’ve hit over the years in contention actually started to creep into my head. It’s amazing what this game does.”