Robin Dawson secures title in Royal County Down battle

There’s nothing like some shiny silverware to reinforce the feeling that you’re doing things right.

And so it was for Tramore’s Robin Dawson, who ended his five-year wait for a major championship victory when surviving some back nine drama to win the Flogas Irish Amateur Open by four strokes from England’s John Gough and Castle’s Alex Gleeson at Royal County Down on two-under par.

The Old Lady of Newcastle bore her consider teeth on the final day, when a cold southerly wind, gusting close to 30mph at times, turned 22-year-old Dawson’s seemingly triumphal procession into battle for survival.