TIME TO DEFEND

Shane Lowry returns to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs this week, as he gets set to the defend the BMW PGA Championship title he superbly won last year.

The Irishman did not drop a shot all week at the prestigious Surrey venue, sinking a birdie at the last for a final-round 65 and a 17 under total, but he faced an anxious wait as Rory McIlroy, in the group behind, gave himself an eagle putt at the 18th which would have forced a play-off.

McIlroy’s 23-foot effort just stayed above ground, and he signed for a 67 to finish in a tie for second alongside Rahm, who had set the target with an impressive ten under par round of 62 earlier in the day, leaving Lowry to celebrate his first victory at an event he loves, and where he had previously recorded nine top-20 finishes.

“I’ve had a few chances to win around Wentworth,” said Lowry.

“I remember in 2014, there was one that I think I had a two-shot lead with about six holes to go, I think I doubled 13, and Rory ended up beating me. I finished second that year. And then there was another year where I was in the lead and Alex Noren shot 62 on Sunday to beat me. When I saw Rahmbo shot 62, I was like, oh, here we go again.

“I suppose I just kind of stuck in, kept trying to give myself chances. It’s a course that I love playing and that I love playing well on, so I see my way around there very well, and like to be honest, you never doubt Rory, but I was playing of the last hole thinking, there’s no way he can beat me here, there’s no way he can make eagle here and he almost, did, but thankfully he didn’t and I got my hands on the trophy.”

With the triumph, it took Lowry’s tally of victories in prestigious events to four, with the previous three coming at The Open Championship, the Abu Dhabi Championship – a Rolex Series event – and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. You’d probably also include his maiden win at his home open in that, with Lowry thrilling the bumper crowds at County Louth by emerging victorious at the Horizon Irish Open back in 2009 as an amateur – he remains the last amateur to win on the DP World Tour.

“I always feel like prefer playing and I feel like I perform better in the bigger tournaments,” he said.

“It’s probably like it’s a bit cliché, and maybe, you know, people might not believe me too much, but I do think that the British and Irish fans are the best fans in the world when it comes to golf.  They are the most knowledgeable and especially when you go down to around Wentworth.  The crowds down there are very knowledgeable about golf.  They know when a good shot is a good shot and they know when a bad shot is a bad shot.  They give you a lot of respect, it’s just a great place to play golf and a great place to play a tournament.”

In news that will no doubt be music to Lowry’s ears, general admission tickets for the weekend have sold out for the second consecutive year, with over 100,000 spectators expected to line the fairways throughout the week at the fourth Rolex Series event of the 2023 Race to Dubai.

If Lowry were to use the crowd’s energy and lift the trophy again, he would be the first player to successfully defend the title since Luke Donald did so in 2012.

“I haven’t even thought about it but yeah, when I get to Wentworth in a few weeks, I’m sure I’ll be thinking about trying to defend my title,” he said.

“Wentworth is always one that you mark in your calendar, this is one that you’re definitely going to play in and want to do well in, but when you go in as defending champion, it’s extra special.”

“I’ve won a few tournaments and I’ve got to do that a few times but this one will be cool. I’m obviously very hopeful that I’m going to be a part of the Ryder Cup Team, and I think a lot of the Ryder Cup Team will be there playing.  It will be a good send-off for them from the Tour.  I think it will be nice to be there. It’s always been one of my favourite events but this year it’s definitely going to be extra special.”