Brendan Lawlor is poised to move to the top of the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) for the first time after the Irishman claimed a second victory in back-to-back weeks at the ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational.
The 22-year-old was the official host for the second tournament of the 2021 EDGA European Tour season – full title ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor – and he lived up to his headliner billing with a dominant performance from start to finish.
Having carded a three under 67 at Massereene Golf Club on the opening day, the Irish golfer delighted the fans at Galgorm with another superb three under 67.
That earned him a six under total and a six-stroke victory over Italy’s Tomasso Perrino, who also finished runner-up to Lawlor at last week’s EDGA Cazoo Open.
“An unbelievable week”
“It was an unbelievable day again,” said Lawlor, who has Ellis-Van Creveld syndrome, a disability characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs. “It’s been an unbelievable week, the last two weeks have been incredible. The European Tour, ISPS HANDA, Modest! Golf – I have to thank them for giving us a chance to showcase the wonderful game.
“The scoring today and the scoring the last couple of days was amazing and it shows that these guys belong here and hopefully it’s going to be a regular occurrence from now on.
“I was a bit shaky, it wasn’t easy, I didn’t look at the leaderboard all day. I was just throwing in my scores and focussing on my own game. It was a bit of a nervous start and I made a few birdies in a row then. It was a blur of a round, I was so focused I don’t even remember which holes I birdied.
“It was a dream of mine from day one to go to World Number One, since this journey started three years ago. I climbed the rankings pretty quickly and we’ve changed a lot of lives in that time and I’ve changed my own life too. It’s a full time job now.
“The pinnacle would be to reach World Number One and hopefully now I can stay there as long as Tiger Woods did! This week is bringing so many people into the game and that’s what we’re trying to do. These guys will hopefully making a living soon and we’ll keep striving.
“It’s been a tough year and a half, the family have been amazing and I had my dad on the bag and the rest of my family out there – they have been amazing. I’m getting emotional, I don’t know what to say but it’s unreal.”
Dubai awaits
Lawlor had already qualified for the season-ending EDGA Dubai Finale courtesy of his EDG Cazoo Open win last week. There was consolation for runner-up Tomasso Perrino, as well as Felix Norrman and Mike Browne, as they will all join their Irish counterpart in Dubai in November.
The EDGA Dubai Finale will mark the fifth and final EDGA European Tour event of 2021, held alongside the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – the final Rolex Series event of the year – at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Friday and Saturday (November 19-20).
