Shane Lowry started 2019 with a dramatic wire-to-wire win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The Irishman started the day with three shots advantage, but after 11 holes he found himself four shots behind the leader Richard Sterne. Lowry recovered well with two birdies on the 12th and the 13th while Sterne lost two shots after bogeys on the 14th and the 16th. So on the tee box on the par 5 18th Sterne and Lowry were sharing the lead at 17 under par. Lowry managed to find the green with his second shot while Sterne found the right rough. Shane Lowry birdied the hole and took the title after a par from the South African Sterne. Joost Luiten made the round of the day and after 7 under on Sunday he finished solo third.
Final Leaderboard:
“I was brave out there today. I ground it out well and I’m over the moon….I’m just so grateful that I’ve won this and I’m so happy and I’m going to really enjoy it because you just don’t know when it’s going to happen again…It’s nice to have a star beside my name and to win a Rolex Series event. We are very lucky to be able to play Rolex events on The European Tour. They have done a great job putting these events together and I’m just over the moon to have one of them.”…said the champion after the end of his round.
The win in Abu Dhabi is Shane Lowry’s fourth at the European Tour. His first tour title came 10 years ago when he won the 2009 Irish Open.
Shane Lowry’s final round Highlights:
The shot of the week belongs to Pablo Larrazábal. The Spaniard used the driver for his second shot on the par 5 18th.
