Lowry falters as Olesen pounces

When Shane Lowry rolled in an eight foot putt at the 13th for his seventh birdie of the day, all the signs were that he was on his way to a first victory on the European Tour as a professional.

Tied for the lead for theSicilian Open at Verdura Golf and Spa Resort with five holes to play, he missed two gilt edged chances for birdies on each of the next two holes.

Bogeys at the 17th and 18th saw him fall out of contention and he eventually finished five under for a share of sixth place worth €30,000 and jump to 71st in the European Tour Race to Dubai order of merit.

Lowry’s fall from grace coincided with a tremendous battle for the €166,600 first prizebetween the 22-year-old Dane Thorbjorn Olesen and England’s Chris Wood. The Englishman came storming through the field with a 64 to post a 15 under par target but Olesen maintained his composure.

He had begun the day six ahead of Wood and knew steadiness rather than brilliance would do the trick coming down the stretch. A bogey at the 13th threatened his position but he rallied with a birdie at the long 14th and parred his way home for a one shot victory.

“It’s a great thrill for me to win after three second places last year,” said Olesen. “I’ve been playing good golf again recently but this is the first time I’ve put the long and short games together. Golf isn’t the biggest sport in Denmark but Thomas Bjorn has been a huge inspiration for me .”

Lowry, who celebrates his 25th birthday today, was left with a lot of ground to make up after soaring to a 74 in the high winds on Saturday. However, he quickly set out to atone that with long, accurate driving allowing him reel off virtually effortless birdies at the second, fourth, seventh and eighth. Further gains followed at the 10th, 11th and 13th at which stage he was tied for the lead at 12 under. But a faltering finish cost him.

“I had a really good chance of doing something decent but I suppose I can’t really complain at five under again on a Sunday,” said Lowry.

“I feel like I’m getting myself into these positions every week. My golf game feels good and I was really confident out there with the driver in my hand. Sixth place is not the end of the world and I have two weeks off nowbefore going to China, Korea and Spain. I feel like my season is panning out nicely with bigtournaments coming up.”

Having set the first round lead with a sparkling 64, Peter Lawrie’s game lacked the same sparkle over the next three days and he made no attempt to conceal his disappointment after yesterday’s 73 sent him back into a tie for 19th worth €11,188.

Gareth Maybin came in a stroke better off after a 69 for a share of 11th and cheque for €15,275.