Niall Horan gets emotional as Brendan Lawlor lands BACK-TO-BACK wins
Brendan Lawlor is set to become the World No. 1 for golfers with a disability for the first time in his fantastic career.
Brendan Lawlor is set to move to the top of the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability 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 and he lived up to his headliner billing with a dominant performance from start to finish.
Having carded a 3-under-par 67 at Massereene Golf Club on the opening day, the Louth man delighted the fans at Galgorm, which included global pop star Niall Horan, with another superb 3-under-par 67.
That earned him a 6-under-par 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.
It was an emotional triumph for Lawlor, watched by his family at Galgorm, while Horan also struggled to hold back the tears with the news that the win is set to move Lawlor to the top of the world rankings for the first time, when the rankings are released this coming Wednesday.
It would complete a career goal for Lawlor, who aims to inspire a new generation of golfers with disabilities, and he was grateful to all the support of his sponsors ISPS HANDA, Modest! and the European Tour, as well as his family.
"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."
Lawlor had already qualified for the season-ending EDGA Dubai Finale courtesy of his EDG Cazoo Open win last week, but 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.
