Simon Dyson wins Irish Open

Simon Dyson of England won the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club by a single stroke from Australia's Richard Green.

Simon Dyson
Fergus Bisset
By Fergus Bisset
published

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Simon Dyson of England won the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club by a single stroke from Australia's Richard Green.

Dyson produced birdies at his 16th and 17th holes and was tied at the top of the lead with Green when the Australian stood on the 18th tee. Green's drive on the 72nd hole narrowly avoided the water down the left side then his, slightly mis-hit approach came up short, on the front edge of the putting surface.

From there, Green raced his first putt some 15 feet past the cup and when he missed the return effort, the title went to Dyson.

"It's a shame you can't bottle how you feel sometimes," Dyson said. "It's amazing - it really is. The golf I've played this week is probably the best I've ever played."

It was a fifth European Tour title for Dyson and it lifts him into the top-20 on this year's Race to Dubai. It has also earned him a start in this week's WGC - Bridgestone Invitational in Akron.

Scotland's Stephen Gallacher played a solid final round of 68 to finish alone in third with Bernd Weisberger of Austria in fourth.

David Howell, who had jointly held the lead with Dyson and Green going into the final day, fired a slightly disappointing fourth round of 73, ending the week in a tie for eighth.

It ended up being a tough week for the Irish Major winners. Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington missed the cut while Graeme McDowell finished 25th and Rory McIlroy 34th.

"It wasn't the result I was looking for," said McIlroy. "But next week is big and the week after (the USPGA Championship) is the most important one."

Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Ireland Jul 28-31, purse €1,500,000, par 71

1   Simon Dyson (Eng)   70   65   67   67   269   €250,000 2   Richard Green (Aus)   67   68   67   68   270   €166,660 3   Stephen Gallacher (Sco) 71   66   67   68   272   €93,900 4   Bernd Weisberger (Aut)   67   69   71   66   273   €75,000 T5   Ignacio Garrido (Esp)   69   65   72   68   274   €53,700 T5   Soren Hansen (Den)   67   66   72   69   274   €53,700 T5   Alexandre Kaleka (Fra)   65   75   66   68   274   €53,700 T8   Lorenzo Gagli (Ita)   68   69   73   65   275   €33,700 T8   David Howell (Eng)   69   69   64   73   275   €33,700 T8   Peter Lawrie (Ire)      70   66   70   69   275   €33,700

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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