Shane Lowry claimed a wire-to-wire victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with a final-round 71.
The Irishman overcome a rough start (three bogeys on his first four holes) and finished his final 14 holes bogey-free, highlighted by a birdie on the 18th hole to edge Richard Sterne by a shot.
It was Lowry’s first career Rolex Series title, and the first win since taking the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
“It puts me to where my goal is for the next 18 months and that’s to be on the plane to Wisconsin [U.S. Open] with Paddy [Padraig Harrington],” Lowry said. “That’s kind of where I want to be, and I think this is a great stepping stone.
“I still have a goal in my head I’m working towards every day and just because I won this doesn’t mean I can take my foot off the gas.
“It’s a great stepping stone, no doubt, because I’m back in the big tournaments now for the foreseeable future and hopefully I can kick on from here and move back up the world rankings where I feel like I really belong.”
