Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: Shane Lowry clinches one-shot victory
- Published
At the par-three 12th, Lowry became the first player to make 11 birdie twos in a European Tour tournament
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: final leaderboard |
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-18 S Lowry (Ire); -17 R Sterne (SA); -15 J Luiten (Ned); -14 L Oosthuizen (SA); -13 S Kjeldsen (Den); -12 P Waring (Eng), P Larrazabal (Spa), I Poulter (Eng). |
Selected others: -9 D Johnson, L Westwood (Eng); -8 M Kaymer (Ger), -5 T Fleetwood (Eng) |
Ireland's Shane Lowry kept his nerve to clinch a one-shot victory over nearest rival Richard Sterne of South Africa in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
It was the 31-year-old's first title win since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2015.
Lowry led by three going into the final day but faltered on his front nine as a charging Sterne led by four after 11.
However, Sterne then began to struggle and with the pair level on the 18th tee, Lowry's birdie clinched his win.
The Irishman's closing 71 saw him finish on an 18-under-par score of 270, with 37-year-old Sterne a shot further back.
"I completely thought I was gone to be honest," Lowry told Sky Sports.
"I just tried to put him under as much pressure as I could. But I didn't think I had that in me today. I'm so happy."
Joost Luiten of the Netherlands, made two eagles in his round and finished third, three shots behind Lowry, with South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen fourth and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen fifth.
Lowry's overnight lead of three was quickly wiped out as he faltered and Sterne played the first nine holes in 31.
Sterne moved ahead after chipping for his fourth birdie of the day on the fifth and the lead was three by the turn after Lowry bogeyed the ninth after finding water with the South African holing a 25-foot birdie putt.
The Pretoria-born player increased his lead to four after 11 holes but two bogeys cost him dear as Lowry responded with birdies on 12 and 13.
Lowry bravely holed a 12-foot par putt on the 17th to remain tied for the lead before the South African pushed his second shot into the cart path on the right at the last.
He failed to get his up-and-down while Lowry, on the green in two, two-putted for the decisive birdie.
The win takes Lowry to the top of the European Tour's Race to Dubai, while Sterne continues to seek a first title since the 2013 Joburg Open.