Cormac Sharvin held off Conor O’Rourke in a superb battle to clinch the 116th TouchStore Irish PGA Championship after a final round battle at Limerick Golf Club that will long in the memory.
Sharvin drove the 18th green and two-putted for a winning birdie to beat O’Rourke on the first playoff hole to claim his first title, adding to the two K Club Pro-Am victories since joining the PGA in Ireland region in 2024.
Sharvin got up and down for a birdie on the 54th hole for a 69 to tie O’Rourke’s 67 on 15-under. He repeated the feat when he ripped a driver into the heart of the 18th green and eventually sunk a five footer for the victory to emerge from a heavyweight back nine battle. He also moves up to third in the Elavon Order of Merit.
“Relief to be honest,” Sharvin said of his emotions. “It was one of those days where I didn’t putt well, I missed a lot early. Felt like I was out of it coming down 12 and 13 and I dug deep managed to birdie 14 and had a bonus on 15 for eagle. Conor came back at me with birdies on 16 and 17. I was one behind down the last hit a really good drive and chip to the 18th.
“That six footer was tough because I didn’t feel comfortable on the greens all day but that gave me the confidence into the playoff to go on and win.”
Teeing off with a two shot lead, Sharvin saw his advantage vanish as he fell one behind O’Rourke with back to back bogeys on the 9th and 10th. O’Rourke moved two shots clear on 13-under with a birdie on the 11th.
Both players made par on the par-5 12th and from there the last six holes were of the highest standard as they sprinted for the finish line.
After O’Rourke bogeyed 13 to lead by just the minimum, Sharvin turned the tide of this championship on its head with a birdie on the par-3 14th before he holed from 50-feet for eagle on 15 to lead by one.
The Killeen Castle star had to deal with some body blows himself coming down the stretch as his one shot lead became a one shot deficit when K Club’s O’Rourke birdied 16 and 17.
Sharvin, who had struggled on the greens most of the day, found one last gear to birdie the 18th in regulation and in the playoff to seal an emotional victory.
“It was a really enjoyable battle over the last five or six holes. My drive in the playoff was half toed which helped it to get over the trap. A little bit of luck which you need to win and that was mine to land it on the green. I rolled it up to six feet and I would have liked it a little bit closer but it was a nice feeling to hole that putt.”
Sharvin’s maiden Irish PGA Championship sees him join Pádraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke on the roll of honour.
“I said it earlier in the week that it would mean the world. It’s such a prestigious trophy and my name is on there forever and they can’t take it off! It’s great to be part of history.”
Sharvin feels taking up his PGA studies and competing on the Irish region has rejuvenated his career after he had stepped away from competitive golf a few years ago.
“I was at rock bottom a few years ago with my golf game and was really struggling. I didn’t have control of the golf ball and it was a really tough battle. I haven’t been playing great the last month or so to be honest and been struggling, searching for things in my swing and hitting loads of balls.
“After the second round in Carlow last week I hit the ball really well and didn’t touch my clubs until this week because I wanted to keep that feeling going into this week. I was chasing something that wasn’t there. I know how to play golf and it’s about letting that out and I felt I did that.”
A late surge from PGA in Ireland captain and defending champion Simon Thornton wasn’t enough as came up shy on twelve-under after a 66 as he took third place while McGuirks’ Conor Ryan closed with a 67 to claim fourth on eleven-under.
Three-time winner Niall Kearney had to settle for a 70 and a ten-under total for fifth place.
18-hole co-leader Daniel Sugrue of Dooks shared sixth place on seven-under with Jack Ryan of Castletroy and Banbridge’s Richard Kilpatrick. Keith Shannon, local man Tim Rice and Damian Mooney rounded out the top-10 on six-under.
As the Elavon Order of Merit race reaches the midway point of the season, it is PGA in Ireland captain and PGA Cup player Thornton who leads the way.
