Tag: Hurly Long

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.

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.”