GOLF: IRISH OPENTHERE'S A terrier-like quality about Simon Dyson. Yesterday, at Killarney Golf Fishing Club, the 33-year-old Englishman was in his most stubborn mindset as he claimed the Irish Open title – one of the oldest championships on the PGA European Tour – and earned a right to have his name etched alongside such legendary players as Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie et al.
And, yet, this triumph – the fifth on the European Tour for Dyson – was achieved through a combination of a number of factors. For sure, Dyson, with a closing round 67 for a 72-holes aggregate of 269, 15-under-par, that featured two birdies in his closing three holes, exemplified an aggressive game-plan that only comes from an awareness that your game is in tiptop shape. He did what he had to do.
But there was a helping hand too from Richard Green, as the Aussie three-putted the Par 4 18th – one which Dyson described as “a smelly hole” – for a bogey, as he signed for a 68 that left him on 270, one shot shy of the mark.
In the end, after all of the brilliance exhibited by Green in a final round where he seemed destined to land the Waterford Crystal trophy, that was the difference.
Apart from pocketing the €250,000 winner’s cheque, the win also paid an immediate dividend for Dyson, who earned a place in the limited field for this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Peter Lawrie, the 37-year-old Dubliner, finished in style with a 10-footer for birdie on the 18th that gave him a final round 69 for 275, nine-under. It left Lawrie in tied-eighth and, for the first time in his career, gave him the distinction of being leading Irishman.
“I played some really good golf all week. You know, if I hadn’t missed a couple of short putts at the start of the round, I might have had a run at it.”
And amateur Paul Cutler also had cause to be pleased. The 22-year-old Ulsterman closed out with a final round 72 for 279, which left him tied-21st. It would have earned him €16,950 – but, instead, he had to be content with a piece of crystal.
For Cutler, who is expected to be named on the Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team when it is selected later this month, it gave him a taste of life on the professional circuit and he will head to Q-School at the end of the year.
“I have improved everything, technically and mentally, in the past couple of years. This week, I’ve learned that I don’t have to do anything different and just go and play my own game. I can definitely compete with these guys,” he said.
The fizz went out on Saturday of the respective challenges of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. Yesterday was about getting into the right frame of mind ahead of a run that moves on from Killarney to Akron for the Bridgestone and then onwards to Atlanta for the US PGA.
McDowell, who closed with a 70 for 280 and tied-25th, was hugely positive about the tournament and the crowds (with yesterday’s attendance of 23,958 bringing the total for the four days to 85,179): “It just didn’t quite happen. The crowds were fantastic, really shouted us on every hole. . . I struggled on the greens and could not quite get it done,” he said.
As McIlroy, who closed with a 71 for 281 and tied-34th place, remarked: “It’s been a bit of a frustrating week. It would have been nice to contend, to give myself a chance to win . . . . but shots like the second I hit into the last, that will give me a lot of confidence going into the next two weeks . .”
On an ideal day for scoring, Dyson, who had a top-10 finish at the British Open on his last outing, proved most adept of those in the all-important final groups. While David Howell bogeyed the first and drifted out of contention, the battle for the top prize developed into a dog-fight between Dyson – in the penultimate group – and Green, who was out with Howell at the tail-end of the field.
Green took the initiative with birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth to turn in 32 – at which point he was two clear of Dyson – but it was the Englishman’s homeward run of 33, which included back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th and again on the 16th and 17th, that proved decisive. Green thought he was one ahead playing the last, but only became aware of Dyson’s presence alongside him when he looked at the giant scoreboard. He then proceeded to three-putt for bogey, after his eight-iron approach had finished on the front of the green and left him with a long 40-foot putt that raced 10 feet past. He missed the par-saving putt, and the title was Dyson’s.
Now, Dyson – in an ISM stable that includes recent major winners McIlroy and Darren Clarke – is aiming for the next level. “I definitely have the game for it. I know that now, you just need a little luck along the way.” Yesterday, he made his own luck. And then got that late helping hand from Green.
