Hoey prevails in seesaw battle with McIlroy to capture Dunhill Links

Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey held off countryman Rory McIlroy to win the Dunhill Links Championship by two shots at St. Andrews on Sunday.

Hoey, ranked No. 271, lost his three-shot overnight lead early in his final round but regrouped to shoot 4-under 68. His 22-under total broke the tournament record by one shot.

Hoey’s third career title was worth $800,000 and continued Northern Ireland’s recent resurgence in world golf.

McIlroy, who began the day five shots back of Hoey, made the turn in 30 and shot a 65. Another Northern Irishman, Graeme McDowell, had a 69 and tied for third.

Hoey wrote another glorious chapter in the remarkable story of Northern Irish golf after holding off illustrious compatriots McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. The only famous Ulsterman absent from the final day was Open champion Darren Clarke, who missed the cut on Saturday.

McIlroy finished two shots behind after a closing 65, with the man he succeeded as U.S. Open champion, McDowell, sharing third alongside Scotland's George Murray a further two strokes back.

"It hasn't sunk in yet and it won't for a while," Hoey admitted. "It's taken a long time but I supposed in a weird way you enjoy it more because you have struggled through six goes at the qualifying school.

"It's not nice running out of money, being away from home, questioning your swing, and there are points where you wonder 'Do I want to continue with this."

Hoey, 32, began the final round three ahead of McDowell and five clear of McIlroy, only for McIlroy to card four birdies and an eagle in a brilliant front nine of 30 to move into the lead.

The U.S. Open champion birdied the second and then holed his second shot to the par-4 third for an eagle-2, his approach pitching past the flag but spinning back into the hole.

Further birdies at the sixth, seventh and ninth took McIlroy top of the leaderboard before Hoey hit back from his second bogey of the day on the seventh with birdies at the eighth and ninth to draw level.

McIlroy pulled ahead again after a superb tee-shot on the par-3 11th finished just two feet from the hole, but that surprisingly proved to be the 22-year-old's last birdie of the day.

Hoey missed from four feet for birdie on the 14th after hitting two drivers to the front of the green -- "I felt I was throwing this away at that stage," he admitted -- but quickly put that disappointment behind him with birdies on the next two holes from close range to take a lead he would not relinquish.

"Playing with Graeme (McDowell), he's such a battler and wanted to win himself, but he said to me a couple of times on the green 'Knock it in' and fortunately at the end I was able to put a bit of fight in myself," Hoey added.

"I knew I had to hit two of the best shots of my life into 16 and 17 and I was really pleased I was able to produce those."