Hoey hits final round 68 to keep stars at bay

MICHAEL HOEY has penned another impressive chapter in the remarkable story of Northern Irish golf after holding off illustrious compatriots Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell to win the Dunhill Links Championship.

Hoey, who began the week ranked 271st in the world, carded a final round of 68 at St Andrews for a 22-under-par total of 266 to claim his second European Tour title of the season and the first prize of €600,000.

McIlroy finished two shots behind after a closing 65, with the man he succeeded as US Open champion, Graeme McDowell, sharing third alongside Scotland’s George Murray a further two strokes back.