Winners on Tour: Rory and Sergio get back in the winner’s circle

European Tour: Irish Open – Rory McIlroy

The last three years McIlroy has missed the cut in this tournament, now he has a win that he ranks just below the Majors.

He was just one ahead of Scotland’s Russell Knox with three to play but then birdied 16, while Knox three-putted, and then hit one of the shots of his career at the last. From 252 yards he smoked a 5-wood to within three feet of the hole. The eagle gave him a 69 and a three-shot victory over Knox and a fast-finishing Bradley Dredge (66).

His winner’s cheque of £515,000 will go to his own foundation which hosted the tournament for the second year.

Masters champion Danny Willett looked to be McIlroy’s biggest challenger but he fell away over the closing holes after parring the first 13 holes.

Knox was using a borrowed driver from Sweden’s David Lingmerth after cracking the face of his own club on Thursday and he was one shot ahead after back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15, but a two-shot swing at 16 gave McIlroy back the momentum and he closed it out in style.

Matthew Southgate, who regained his European Tour card via the qualifying school after undergoing treatment for testicular cancer last year, produced a 68 to claim fourth spot, the best result of his career.

What McIlroy said: “I don’t really get emotional when I win but I was trying to hold back the tears on the 18th green, looking up and seeing all my friends and family. I don’t get the chance to play in front of them very often so to play like that and to finish like that, I will never forget it. I’d put winning your national open up there with winning a WGC, just below the Majors.

“I was trying to stay as patient as I could but it’s quite hard when you have 30,000 people roaring you on. The ovation I got when the ball landed on the 16th green sent shivers down my spine.

“It’s funny, I had the exact same distance in the pro-am and JP (Fitzgerald, his caddie) tried to get me to hit a four-iron but I didn’t like it. I felt like I was trying to hit it too hard, so I dropped another ball and hit a five-wood so I had some confidence knowing what I needed to do and pulled it off perfectly.”

253 yards.

The shot of a champion. https://t.co/7EpcJKAbWH

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 22, 2016

PGA Tour: AT&T Byron Nelson – Sergio Garcia

Garcia picked up his first win on the PGA Tour since 2012 after overcoming Brooks Koepka in a play-off. The American ran up a six after driving into the water while Garcia made a rock-solid four – he now has nine wins on Tour, the same as Seve Ballesteros.

“I won a bit like Seve,” said Garcia. “This is going to drop me nicely into the Ryder Cup points league. That means a lot.”

Garcia also won the 2004 Byron Nelson and is the first two-time winner since the event moved to TPC Four Seasons in 1983.

Matt Kuchar missed out on the play-off by a shot after returning a last-round 65 while Jordan Spieth, after rounds of 64, 65 and 67, had to birdie the last for a 74.

Koepka actually got to 17 under before consecutive bogeys at 14 and 15 but he still had a 16-footer for outright victory at the last. The effort just missed on the low side.

Garcis also had chances at the last two holes but he had to wait for extra holes to finally get over the line.

This was the Spaniard’s 301^st start on Tour and is a huge boost for his Ryder Cup hopes.

LPGA Tour: Kingsmill Championship – Ariya Jutanugarn

The Thai star claimed her second straight victory after a closing 67 gave her a one-shot win over of rookie Su Oh of Australia. Gerina Piller of America and Korean Sei Young Kim finished tied for third. Lexi Thompson was in a share of fifth.

Jutanugarn became the first Thai player to win on Tour and four birdies on her front nine paved the way for back-to-back wins.

Oh, who turns 20 on Monday, sank a long birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th to get within one of the lead. Which meant Jutanugarn needed a par at 18 to seal the victory. She missed the green right but chipped up to six feet and holed the putt.

What Jutanugarn said: “This was a lot easier. I didn’t get nervous. I didn’t get excited until the last putt. My hands were shaking, but it’s just a little bit, not like last tournament. Last tournament was so bad.

“I didn’t feel pressure. I just feel like whatever it is is fine because I just really want to have fun. I know they play good, but I’m not really care about them. I really worry about like what I want to do more.”