Dyson’s consistency rewarded

WHATEVER about major winners, the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland stayed true to form in Killarney as it produced another English winner after Simon Dyson edged home in a dramatic finale.

Dyson followed Nick Faldo in 1991 and 1992 and last year’s champion Ross Fisher to continue English dominance at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club as a final-round 67 gave him victory at 15 under par by one shot from Australia’s Richard Green.

The conclusion may have lacked some Irish flavour, Peter Lawrie leading the home challenge at nine under in a tie for eighth, but the victory had a sweet taste for Dyson, who picked up his fifth victory on the European Tour.

Not only did he move from 67th in the world rankings into the top 50, the win also handed him an entry into this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

“I’m absolutely made up. Absolutely made up. I came in playing some very good golf, but, I didn’t think it would be that good. I impressed myself a little bit to be honest,” Dyson said.

“Just the quality of the shots that I was hitting. I mean, I’ve got myself into contention, made a good birdie (at the eighth), a good par save at nine. And then to hit two approach shots into 10 and 11 like I did to set up the two birdies (were superb). The four iron is one of the best shots I’ve hit all year to be honest.

“I just kept doing it hole after hole. My caddie just kept saying to me: ‘You haven’t hit a bad shot all week, so just trust what you’re doing and keep doing it,’ and I managed to do it down the stretch.”

Dyson, who had held a share of the overnight lead at 11 under with fellow Englishman David Howell and Green, had been three under for his round after 11 holes before a bogey at the par-four 13th threatened his title bid.

The 33-year-old Yorkshireman, playing in the penultimate group with Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher, then birdied 16th and 17th to get to 15 under, only for Green, in the final pairing with Howell, to birdie the 16th and join him in the lead. Dyson held his nerve with a wonderful par on the final hole but had to watch as Green gave himself a shot at victory with a long birdie putt. The Australian, though, believed he had a one-stroke advantage over his rival and when he saw the leaderboard walking up the 18th to the green, he said it increased the difficulty of his putt.

He overhit it, the ball ran 10 feet past the hole and Green missed coming back to give Dyson victory, despite carding a 68 for his fourth round in the 60s this week.

“I was disappointed with the putt at the last,” Green said. “I didn’t expect the eight iron at the last to come up so short.

“I actually thought I had a shot lead coming in the last hole and I think seeing Simon at 15 added that bit of pressure over the first putt, and it was a pressure putt. I hit it a bit too hard.”

Two shots further back from Green, Stephen Gallacher of Scotland claimed outright third place at 12 under par thanks to birdie at the last to give him a 68 and his best finish of the season thanks to third top-10 of the year, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger closing with a 66 to claim fourth, the first top-10 finish of the 25-year-old’s European Tour career.

Howell’s hopes of a first victory since 2006, before a series of injuries sent him sliding down the world rankings from ninth in the world that year, were dashed with a closing 73 and he shared eighth place with Lawrie, who was leading Irishman after a 69 and Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli, whose 65 was the round of the day.

Paul Cutler completed a great week by finishing as low amateur at five under, alongside fellow Irishmen Damien McGrane and Simon Thornton but there was final-day disappointment for the two remaining homegrown major winners Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

McDowell finished with a 70 at four under in a tie for 25th, with McIlroy a shot further back after a 71 and tied for 34th. They still enjoyed the biggest galleries in Killarney as the Irish Open broke last year’s total attendance by more than 3,000 with 85,179 streaming through the gates over the four rounds.

They will have wished for an Irish winner but they got a deserving champion in Dyson and the Irish Open, in seeking a title sponsor to secure it’s long-term future will be none the worse for that.