Irish Open: Australia’s Lucas Herbert wins at Mount Juliet

Lucas Herbert held the lead after the first round and never relinquished his advantage Dates: Thursday to Sunday 1-4 July Highlights on BBC One NI: Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 BST -19 L Herbert (Aus); -16 R Karlberg (Swe); -15 J Veerman (US); -14 R Bland (Eng), R Ramsay (Sco), G Forrest, F Laporta, D Whitnell (Eng); -13 A Johnston (Eng), J Scrivener (Aus), S Crocker (USA) Selected others: -10 T Fleetwood (Eng); -9 S Lowry (Ire); -7 C Sharvin (NI); -5 J Catlin (US), M Kaymer (Ger); -3 G McDowell (NI); -2 R McIlroy (NI)

Lucas Herbert won the Irish Open at Mount Juliet by three shots after a four-under-par final round of 68.

The 25-year-old Australian held off the charging Rikard Karlberg of Sweden to claim his second European Tour victory.

Shane Lowry was the highest-placed Irish player, after a strong final round of 66 left the Open champion tied for 23rd place.

NI duo Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy carded two-over-par final rounds and were well off the pace.

Cormac Sharvin, who was the best-placed Irish player before the final round, carded a solid level-par final round to finish in 33rd in soaking conditions in Kilkenny.

After a strong four days at Mount Juliet, Herbert added to his maiden European Tour success in the 2020 Dubai Desert Classic. Holding a one-shot lead over Johannes Veerman going into the final round, Herbert, ranked 100 in the world, picked up two birdies in the opening three holes to strengthen his lead at the top of the leaderboard.

A bogey on the fifth was his only dropped shot on the final day, and although Veerman briefly tied for the lead after the 14th, a combination of two Herbert birdies and two bogeys for the American saw the former claim victory.

Karlberg carded a five-under-par final round to become Herbert’s nearest challenger, however the Swede left himself with too much to do following his opening round of 71.

After his early-weekend struggles, Lowry’s score of 66 – only bettered by the seven-under-par rounds of Matthew Jordan and Oliver Farr – saw him head to Royal St George’s with momentum as the Offaly player aims to defend the Open title he won at Royal Portrush two years ago.

McDowell and McIlroy finished tied for 56th and 59th respectively as both players carded two-over-par 74s to bring their disappointing tournaments to a close.

Defending champion John Caitlin had a disastrous final outing of 74, which included three bogeys and a double bogey.