Jamie Donaldson wins The Irish Open

Jamie Donaldson of Wales closed with a magnificent 66 to win The Irish Open at Royal Portrush. Finishing on 18-under-par, it was his maiden European Tour title in his 255th start.

Jamie Donaldson wins Irish Open (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
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Jamie Donaldson of Wales closed with a magnificent 66 to win The Irish Open at Royal Portrush. Finishing on 18-under-par, it was his maiden European Tour title in his 255th start.

Donaldson began the final round one shot ahead of Anthony Wall, but when he stood on the first tee the Welshman already had ground to make up. Sweden's Mikael Lundberg had raced to the turn in just 29 shots.

Wall joined Donaldson on 12-under with a birdie on his first hole, but the Englishman slumped to a triple-bogey eight on the second hole and was playing catch-up from that point onwards.

Donaldson rallied with three straight birdies from the second. He kept the ship steady with six consecutive pars and was not rocked by a bogey four on the 11th. He struck back with birdies at the 12th, 14th and 15th. Another bogey at the 16th suggested a slight wobble for the 36-year-old, but he dismissed it with a brace of birdies on the last two holes. In the end he finished four clear of the field. It was his first European Tour victory in his 255th start on the circuit.

After challenging conditions through the week at Portrush, the final afternoon brought more clement weather and the 30,000-strong crowd enjoyed watching some excellent golf.

Mikael Lundberg eventually posted a 65 to finish in a tie for fifth. Donaldson's 66 was matched by Fabrizio Zanotti and Rafa Cabrera-Bello who shared second with Wall. The Spaniard made a charge at the top of the leaderboard but came unstuck with a mistake from the rough on the 17th that cost him a bogey.

Home favourite Padraig Harrington finished in a tie for seventh with Scottish duo, David Drysdale and Craig Lee.

The Irish Open Royal Portrush GC, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland 28 Jun - 1 Jul, purse €2,000,000, par 72

1   Jamie Donaldson (Wal)   68   67   69   66   270   €333,330 T2   Rafa Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 71   67   70   66   274   €149,140 T2   Fabrizio Zanotti (Par)   69   71   68   66   274   €149,140 T2   Anthony Wall (Eng)   67   71   67   69   274   €149,140 T5   Mikael Lundberg (Swe)   69   66   75   65   275   €77,400 T5   Mark Foster (Eng)   66   67   73   69   275   €77,400 T7   David Drysdale (Sco)   70   70   70   66   276   €51,600 T7   Craig Lee (Sco)      73   68   67   68   276   €51,600 T7   Padraig Harrington (Ire) 67   67   72   70   276   €51,600

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage Where next? PGA Tour - Tiger Woods wins AT&T National

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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