Vincent Norrman secured his second DP World Tour title in the space of just 56 days as he carded a final round seven under par 65 to triumph at the Horizon Irish Open.
The Swede, who won the Barbasol Championship in the United States in July, started the day six strokes behind the overnight leaders and was well off the pace after pars on his opening six holes.
The 25-year-old made his first birdies of the day on the seventh and ninth holes before play was suspended at The K Club for an hour and a half due to the threat of lightning.
Norrman showed no signs of slowing down after the restart as he birdied four of his next five holes from the tenth. His birdie at the 13th saw him move into a share of the lead for the first time and he then made his seventh gain of the day on the 18th to set the clubhouse target of 14 under par.
Germany’s Hurley Long was also on 14 under par after 12 holes, but consecutive bogeys saw him slip back to 12 under. The 28-year-old gave himself an eagle look at the last, but he left his putt short, handing Norrman his second DP World Tour title.
His win sealed a fortnight of success for Sweden on the DP World Tour as he backed up compatriot Ludvig Åberg’s victory last week at the Omega European Masters.
“It feels unbelievable. I can’t believe this is mine,” said Norrman.
“I kind of looked at the leaderboard and I knew what was going on. I knew I was going to be close.
“I’m just as starstruck as some of those fans out here seeing those guys, and to be competing against them is so cool. Yeah, to beat them is even cooler.
In a share of third was home favourite Shane Lowry, who was bidding for a second Irish Open crown, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, who was runner-up at this event last year, Scotsman Grant Forrest and Thriston Lawrence of South Africa.
Lowry and fellow Horizon Ambassador Pádraig Harrington were raising money this week for Official Charity Make-A-Wish Ireland, pledging to donate €500 for every birdie and €1,00 for every eagle they carded during the four tournament rounds.
The pair carded 32 birdies and an eagle between them, raising €17,000 for the charity. Séamus Power, also a Horizon Ambassador, was ruled out of the tournament through injury at the start of the week, but the Waterford man also pledged to donate €5,000.
Tournament Title Partner Horizon also donated €150 for every birdie and €300 for every eagle on the 18th hole as part of this year’s Birdies for Wishes campaign.
There were a total of 233 birdies and 19 eagles across the four days, securing a donation of €40,650. Horizon Chairman, President and CEO Tim Walbert also pledged to match that donation amount taking the total funds raised through Birdies for Wishes to €81,300 for the charity, which will help grant more wishes to children between the ages of three and 17 living with life-threatening medical conditions.
