England’s Simon Dyson catapulted himself back onto the world stage with a win at the Irish Open in Killarney that left Major winners Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in the shade.

Peter Lawrie was best of the Irish in tied eighth position on nine under par, six shots off the winner, with Ulster amateur Paul Cutler finishing on a very creditable five under alongside Damien McGrane and Simon Thornton.

Dyson, on 15 under, secured his fifth European Tour win when Australia’s Richard Green three putted the last hole to finish a shot behind and miss out on a play-off.

As a result, the Englishman will now play alongside Tiger Woods at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron this week.

Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher was third and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger fourth.
McDowell finished 25th and McIlroy 34th at the end of a disappointing week for both players.

McIlroy just about remains fourth in the world and said: “It wasn’t the result I was looking for, but this was the first week of three.

“Next week is big, but the week after and the US PGA in Atlanta is the most important one.

“I feel if I put the work in there’s no reason why I can’t have another good shot at a major.”
McDowell, who finished four under, said: “I took some really good steps forward on my short game.I was dejected when I missed the cut at The Open but my attitude was a lot better here.”

Padraig Harrington, who missed the cut in Killarney, has confirmed that he has ended his working relationship with long time coach Bob Torrance.

“We are having a break because I am getting very frustrated,” said Harrington who hasn’t won in Europe or America since his 2008 US PGA triumph.