Lowry surges in DP World Tour Rankings
Dubai: Shane Lowry has ascended to fith in the DP World Tour Rankings in partnership with Rolex ater puting on a flawless display to win the 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club.
The tournament was reduced to 54 holes ater Friday’s play was cancelled due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, with Lowry claiming a narrow one-shot victory on Sunday.
The 2019 Open Champion finished on an impressive score of 17 under par ater carding three consecutive bogey-free rounds at Wentworth.
He becomes the first player from the Republic of Ireland to win the historic championship in more than 60 years and in doing so secured a jump in the season-long DP World Tour Rankings from 14th to fith.
“I’m just so happy that I can win this tournament,” Lowry said. “I love this tournament and I love this course.
“I love coming here, the area, I just love everything about it. I’m so happy that I can come here and win the tournament this year.
“I feel like I’ve had a great year but it’s not a great year unless you win. And I feel like this is just the glaze on the cake for me.
“I said to my coach this morning, ‘I need to just allow myself to play golf’. I’m playing the best golf of my life. I need to allow myself to do that and I did that.”
The victory also marks Lowry’s second triumph in a Rolex Series event following his win at the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Elsewhere, there were other significant advances in the Rankings with current leader Rory Mcilroy earning another 694.5 points to extend his lead at the top.
The Northern Irishman came close to winning on Sunday with his eagle put on the 18th hole coming within a whisker of forcing a play-off.
With a closing birdie, the four-time Major winner had to setle for a share of second place alongside 2019 DP World Tour Rankings winner Jon Rahm.
“Overall, another good week,” Mcilroy said ater his round. “I keep puting myself in these positions and that’s all you can ask for.”
Viktor Hovland also enjoyed a significant move with his share of fith place at Wentworth elevating himself from fourth to second in the Rankings. However, it was Soren Kjeldsen who enjoyed the biggest climb of the week. The 47-year-old Danish veteran moved from 147th to 83rd ater finishing alongside Hovland in fith place.
In total there were 45 players who secured a rise in the rankings following their efforts at Wentworth, with the top 50 at the conclusion of the Nedbank Golf Challenge qualifying for November’s DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The likes of Thomas Detry, Jon Rahm and Mathieu Pavon all managed to progress into the all-important top 50 bracket following top ten finishes at the weekend.
The DP World Tour moves on this week to the €3 million DS Automobiles Italian Open at Marco Simone GC in Rome, Italy, host venue of next year’s Ryder Cup. The event is set to take place between Sept.15-18 with Mcilroy, US Open Champion Mat Fitzpatrick and Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald set to feature.
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group, with a global schedule featuring a minimum of 43 tournaments in 21 different countries across the 2022 season.
Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2022 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, two World Golf Championship events and three tournaments co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.