Irish out of luck on day of bonuses for Scots contingent

Monday 2 July 2012

Scotland's David Drysdale and Craig Lee stormed into a share of seventh place at the Irish Open yesterday with eye-catching final rounds while Richie Ramsay and Paul Lawrie also finished high up the board.

Custom byline text:

However, it was Welshman Jamie Donaldson who emerged as the victor at Royal Portrush, signing for a 66 to win by four strokes with an 18-under-par tally of 270. It is 36-year-old Donaldson's first Tour success in 10 years and 255 tournaments.

Three players, England's Anthony Wall (69), Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello (66) and Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti (66), shared second place on 274.Drysdale secured his best finish of the season by holing a 96-yard wedge shot for an eagle 2 at the first, sinking a four-foot birdie putt at the third for another 2, followed by an eight-foot birdie for a third 2 at the sixth.The Borders golfer then ended his outward half by landing a 196-yard 4-iron shot just four feet from the flag at the ninth for an eagle 3.Drysdale, round in 66, left the scorer's hut proudly clutching a bottle of Bushmills whisky – all 70 players who made the cut received one –and commented: "I might open it now as that round is worth a toast."Lee's result is his best since finishing in a share of eighth place in his very first event this year, the Africa Open, and his 68 earned him not only his highest cheque on Tour, £41,405, but also a start in this week's French Open."Getting into the French Open is massive for me and that's a big bonus," he said."But it was an awesome atmosphere out there – we were clapped on to every green for 18 holes. I've never had that kind of reception before. I had 30,000 ball-spotters."Lee jumped 32 places to 97th on the Race to Dubai rankings and inside the top 115 on the money list.Ramsay capped his round early with a rescue club shot of 247 yards to three feet for an eagle at the second.After taking a week off to practise at the Renaissance Club, Ramsay is delighted with his form leading into the French Open, the following week's Scottish Open and then a third Open Championship showing."All in all, it's been a good day and a good first week back," he said. "I'm pleased with my overall performance, and I showed a lot of patience, especially on Saturday when it was a battle to shoot 72."Lawrie moved back into second place on the Ryder Cup points table following his round of 66 for a share of 33rd place on five under."It's difficult not to keep thinking about the Ryder Cup when you've got a chance to be in the team," he said. "But I've managed to pick up a few more Euros this week and that's as much as you can do, as it's all about the minute."

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Irish out of luck on day of bonuses for Scots contingent

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED