Lowry holds off McIlroy at Wentworth; Ewing wins on LPGA

Photo: The Canadian Press

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Shane Lowry tapped in for birdie at the 18th hole Sunday and then had to wait to see if Rory McIlroy could produce something special to force a playoff at Wentworth.

McIlroy had an eagle putt on the last hole that stopped an inch short as Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship.

McIlroy and Jon Rahm tied for second, one shot back.

It was Lowry’s first win since the British Open at 2019 and came after a bogey-free performance over three days. The tournament was reduced to 54 holes with no play on Friday after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

Lowry finished with a 7-under 65 for a 17-under total of 199.

Rahm surged up the leaderboard with a 62, rolling in an eagle putt on the 18th to take a two-shot lead at 16 under. He then had to wait more than two hours to see if it would be good enough for the win.

A superb approach shot from Lowry on the 18th made sure of that. Lowry hit an iron from 242 yards onto the center of the green and then rolled an eagle putt to within a few inches of the hole to set up the winning birdie.

Lowry's victory moves him back into the top 20 in the world. McIlroy stayed atop the DP World Tour points list in his bid to win season titles on the PGA Tour and European tour.

LPGA TOUR

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ally Ewing ran off five straight birdies on the back nine and closed with a 7-under 65 to hold off Xiyu Lin and win the Kroger Queen City Championship in the LPGA Tour’s return to Cincinnati.

Ewing now has three career wins, one in each of the last three years, though she came into this tournament without a top-10 finish all year.

The 29-year-old American played bogey-free on a rain-softened course and was pushed to the very end by Lin, who birdied two of her last three holes for a 65.

Maria Fassi of Mexico had a 71 and finished alone in third, her best LPGA finish.

Lin started the final round two shots behind and made up ground quickly with a pair of birdies.

Ewing took the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the par-4 13th, made a 10-foot birdie on the next hole, hit wedge to 8 feet for birdie on the par-5 15th and then made her fifth in a row on the 16th after Lin also had birdied.

Lin made an 18-foot birdie on the 456-yard closing hole into a breeze — only the 20th birdie all week on No. 18 — to create a little extra pressure. Ewing had come up short of the green and putted to 3 feet for par to finish at 22-under 266.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Padraig Harrington built a comfortable lead and even a few mistakes at the end couldn’t keep him from winning the Ascension Charity Classic for his third title this year on the PGA Tour Champions.

Harrington had seven birdies in a closing round of 3-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Y.E. Yang (66) at Norwood Hill Golf Club.

Steve Stricker, who started one shot behind Harrington, caught him when the Irishman took double bogey on the par-3 fourth hole. Both made birdie on the fifth, but that was the last birdie Stricker made. He finished with 13 pars for a 69 to finish third.

Bernhard Langer had a 70 and finished fourth.

Harrington’s third victory on the PGA Tour Champions — and his second in his last three tournaments — allowed him to at least close the gap on Steven Alker of New Zealand in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Four tournaments remain before the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs start, and Alker’s lead is down to $134,778, meaning Harrington will have a chance to take over the lead next week at the Sanford International in South Dakota.

OTHER TOURS

Kazuki Higa birdies his last two holes for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the Shinhan Donghae Open, making him the first player with three Japan Golf Tour wins this season. ... Liz Young of England captured her first Ladies European Tour title when she closed with a 3-under 69 for a one-shot victory over Linn Grant of Sweden in the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open. ... Jaco Van Zyl closed with a 3-under 69 and won the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge on the Sunshine Tour by two shots over Hennie Otto. ... Haruka Kawasaki rallied from four shots down with an 8-under 64 and a three-shot victory over Miyuu Yamashita in the Japan LPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup.

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