Golf: McGinley wins as Westport abandoned

Weather conditions have caused the abandonment of the final round in the Smurfit PGA Irish Championship at Westport which means that Paul McGinley has won the title for a third time.

McGinley led after the third round on Saturday, three strokes ahead of John Dwyer, and after two attempts to get the tournament completed it was decided to reduce the event to 54 holes.

High winds caused the balls to be blown around on the greens and hailstorms were also preventing players from lining up their shots.

"This is as bad it gets," commented McGinley who hadn't started his last round before the championship was finally abandoned.

"I have never experienced conditions like these anywhere in the world."

McGinley now adds over €21,000 euro to his bank balance and takes a week off to rest after three hard weeks of top class competition.