Tag: Horizon Irish Open

Vincent Norrman closes with a 65 to win Horizon Irish Open for second DP World Tour win

In Norrman’s 14th appearance on the DP World Tour, he now has two wins.

Halfway throught the final round of the 2023 Horizon Irish Open, the top of the leaderboard showed a four-way tie for the lead as Vincent Normann, Grant Forrest, Hurly Long and Ryan Fox were all at 13 under at The K Club in Kildare, Ireland.

Min Woo Lee and Jordan Smith were just a shot back, with Rory McIlroy, Shubhankar Sharma, Shane Lowry and Connor Syme all giving chase, two shots back.

The stage was set for a fantastic finish and Vincent Norrman delivered. The winner of his first PGA Tour event in July bogeyed the 13th hole in each of the first three rounds, but he made birdie there Sunday, one of seven birdies in a bogey-free, 7-under 65 final round. He started the day six shots back but had six of his birdies during an eight-hole stretch on Nos. 7 through 14 to climb into contention.

2023 Horizon Irish Open
Vincent Norrman plays his second shot on the 18th hole during the final round at the 2023 Horizon Irish Open at The K Club in Kildare, Ireland. (Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Norrman closed his day with a short birdie on 18 and walked off the course tied for the lead at 14 under and then played the waiting game. About 90 minutes later, he was monitoring the closing moments of the tournament on his phone on the practice putting green, waiting to see if Long could eagle the par-5 closing hole to tie and force a playoff.

But Long could not drain the eagle putt, clinching the win for Norrman by a shot. In his 14th appearance on the DP World Tour, Norrman now has two wins.

“It means everything,” Norrman said after his round. “Obviously such a cool event to play. The fans have been incredible. I’ve really had a fun week.”

It’s the second week in a row a Swedish player has won on the DP World Tour. Ludvig Aberg won the Omega European Masters seven days ago.

Long nabbed solo second at 13 under. Forrest, Fox, Lowry and Thriston Lawrence tied for third at 12 under.

McIlroy had a bad back nine Sunday. He was even through 10 before dunking his approach into a stream on the 11th hole, leading to a bogey. He birded the 13th but after trying to reach the par-5 16th in two, he hit another ball into the water, leading to a triple bogey on the hole. A day after posting 66, McIlroy closed with a birdie but shot a 74 and tied for 13th, his first finish outside the top 10 in any tournament since May.

“Obviously if you win, you’re doing something good,” Norrman said. “It’s a world-class event, and honestly I can’t believe it’s happened.”

The DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is next week.

How Rory McIlroy made this 7-year-old’s wish come true at Irish Open

This video will warm your heart.

Heading into the final round at The K Club in Ireland, Rory McIlroy sits two shots back of Hurly Long. In 2016, McIlroy was victorious at The K Club.

Regardless of his finish, McIlroy’s best moment of the week came Wednesday during a practice round. He let 7-year-old Michael Horgan, who has a brain tumor, walk with him on the ninth hole, thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Instead of just recording a video for Horgan, McIlroy let him inside the ropes and experience professional golf from up close.

Horgan sat next to McIlroy on a cart as the duo drove up the four-time major champion’s last hole of the day. On the approach shot, Horgan assisted McIlroy in getting his yardage.

When they got to the green, McIlroy gave Horgan a version of his putter. Michael’s birdie try sprinted by, and he said, “My dad always tells me to hit it softer.”

The interaction was priceless, and you can watch it here.

Rory McIlroy made a big jump on moving day at the Irish Open

Rory is only two back.

Friday night, Rory McIlroy thought he may be too far behind the lead to catch up at the Horizon Irish Open. Turns out, he’s got a chance to win yet again at The K Club come Sunday.

McIlroy tied the low round of the day, carding a 6-under 66 to move to 11 under and solo third. He came into the third round eight shots back, but come Sunday he’s only two behind Hurly Long in search of another Irish Open victory.

“It didn’t really feel like a charge,” McIlroy said. “It just felt like a really solid day of golf, giving myself plenty of looks and converting a few, which is probably the difference between the last two days and today. A really solid day’s play and I needed a little bit of help from the leaders, as well.”

Irish Open: Full leaderboard

Jordan Smith and Shubhankar Sharma each sat at 13 under after the second round but struggled Saturday. Smith dropped one shot and is solo second at 12 under, one behind Long. Sharma was 3 over and is T-4 at 10 under.

The 28-year-old Long was solid, carding a 2-under 70 to move into the solo lead. He hasn’t won on the DP World Tour and is ranked 252nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. His best finish this season is 30th in Kenya. What’s with the strong play after 54 holes?

“You know, when we had those four weeks off, I practiced really, really hard trying to find something, and you know, putting my mind to what had gone wrong, Long said. “I found some things that for me personally are some keys, having a plan. I played well this year. It wasn’t horrendous, but it’s just these guys are too good to be mediocre.”

Long is looking forward to the pressure and challenge of McIlroy chasing him Sunday, along with Smith and a host of others.

“Obviously the first two round, there wasn’t too many people watching my group today but there was a lot more and tomorrow there is obviously going to be a lot more,” Long said “Yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. Obviously it’s a big stage but it’s going to be a lot of fun, I know that.”

Jordan Smith, Shubhankar Sharma tied for lead at Irish Open

Catch up on the action from the Irish Open here.

Another day at The K Club, another day for low scoring and the field took advantage.

After opening the Horizon Irish Open with a 7-under 65 Thursday and sleeping on the solo 18-hole lead, Shubhankar Sharma was one worse Friday, shooting a 6-under 66 and is joined atop the leaderboard by Jordan Smith at 13 under.

“It was a really quick start,” Sharma told the media in Kildare, Ireland. “Very early morning start for us, so I was a bit sleepy in the morning. I managed to make a lot of putts on the front nine. I had nine single putts which was amazing. I don’t think I’ve done that before.

“Everything was just going nicely. I was hitting it in the right spots and I was really good inside ten feet. So it all came together.”

Irish Open: Full leaderboard

Smith, after a first-round 66, fired a 7-under 65 that included nine birdies and a double bogey on the par-4 17th. The Englishman, who won the Portugal Masters last year for his second DP World Tour win, tied for 20th at last week’s European Masters.

Ross Fisher (6-under 66) is alone in third at 12 under, Hurly Long (6-under 66) is in solo fourth at 11 under, while Calum Hill (7-under 65) is fifth at 10 under.

As for the big names, Shane Lowry (4-under 68) is solo ninth at 8 under, five back, and Rory McIlroy is tied for 26th at 5 under, eight back.

The shot of the day came from the Northern Irishman when he drained his 116-yard approach into the par-5 16th for eagle.

Coverage of the Irish Open continues Saturday morning on Golf Channel from 7:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET.

Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel talking golf swing is music to our ears

Swing nerds rejoice.

Some of the best golf television is not when the commentators are speaking, but when the golfers are discussing shots with their caddies or talking with each other.

That was no different Thursday during the first round of the Horizon Irish Open, where Rory McIlroy, the 2016 champion of the event at The K Club, and Billy Horschel were caught discussing the golf swing walking off a tee box.

At the beginning of the clip, McIlroy, ranked second in the world, stopped while walking off a tee box to act out a swing thought Horschel was describing. Then the latter talked about the feel in his golf swing and more, with the duo providing mesmerizing commentary for 30 seconds that any swing nerd can’t get enough of.

McIlroy and Horschel shot matching 3-under 69s in the opening round. There’s a four-way tie for the lead at 6-under 66, which includes Jordan Smith, Thomas Bjorn, Ross Fisher and Ashun Wu.

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