It proved to be a disappointing Sunday for most of the Irish competitors on the various pro circuits, with Tom McKibbin’s ‘close, but no cigar’ performance in Qatar, Shane Lowry’s final-round tumble down the leaderboard in Phonenix, and Conor Purcell, Lauren Walsh and Olivia Mehaffey losing ground in their final efforts in Cape Town and Kenya respectively.
But it was a very profitable Saturday for Graeme McDowell, as the Portrush man posted a best finish of T5 at LIV Las Vegas, and found himself on the podium for the first time as his team, Smash GC, cruised to team victory thanks in no small measure to G-Mac himself.
While Dustin Johnson scooped the top $4 million dollar prize, taking his total prize money earned since joining LIV over the $52 million mark on top of the rumoured nine-figure joining fee, McDowell walked away with $700,000 in individual earnings and picked up an additional $300,000 for the team victory, taking his weekly total to $1 million.
At the other end of the scale, Lauren Walsh’s tie for 32nd at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open earned her €2,513 and Olivia Mehaffey, two shots better in a tie for 23rd, picked up a cheque for €3,804, and Conor Purcell, who finished tied for 24th at the McBain’s Cape Town Open on the Challenge Tour earned €3,443.
McKibbin, however, continues to be a money-making machine on the DP World Tour, finishing solo fourth and picking up €116,020.
Meanwhile, back Stateside, Lowry’s final-round 76 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open saw him fall to a tie for 60th and a $19,448 payout, while Power, who shot -2 across the final 18 after making a 36th hole birdie to make the cut on the number was compensated with an $18,392 cheque for his efforts an eventual T66 placing.
Nick Taylor, who beat Charley Hoffman on the second playoff hole earned just over $1.5 million, with the 47-year-old runner-up getting in excess of $950,000 for his troubles.
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