Lowry Eyes K Cub for Irish Win

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Shane Lowry is at a loss to explain his fluctuating fortunes during many of his tournaments this year as he prepares for an assault on this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the K Club. 

Lowry’s season has been peppered with sensational starts but underwhelming subsequent rounds and it was the same story last weekend, where the Offaly man registered rounds of 65 and 68 before a disastrous 78 ended his chance of victory in the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

“If you look at it historically, I’ve been pretty average in opening rounds and I play my way into tournaments.

“I just need to learn to keep the foot on the pedal.

“I was probably only two shots away from really thinking I had a chance going out last Sunday, so I’m not that far away.

“Hopefully, this week is the week where I can make that change and play well for four rounds.”

Lowry caused a huge upset when he claimed the Irish Open as an amateur in Baltray seven years ago today, but struggles to recall the detail of what should have been an unforgettable day. 

Asked about what he remembered of his landmark win in Louth, he said: “Not much, to be honest.

“Obviously, it was a day that changed my life.

“Well, I’m not sure if I wouldn’t be sitting here anyway, but it changed the course of my career a little bit anyway.

“I don’t really remember much.

“I just remember from looking back on videos and photos of just winning.

“I can only imagine how it felt - I don’t know how it felt at the time. I’d love to go back and relive it for a few seconds.

“It’s something I’ll look back at as I get older and older, and when I’m old and retired and finished playing golf, I’m sure I’ll look back at those videos and think ‘yeah, that was pretty cool’.”

The 29-year-old may have ticked the Irish Open of his bucket list, but is now keen to achieve an amateur-professional double in the event.

“Even if I hadn’t won it as an amateur, to win it as a pro would be one of my goals,” he said.

“To have that on your CV - winning your home tournament as an amateur and a pro - would be pretty nice.”

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Lowry Has Irish Open in Sights

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Shane Lowry is hoping his brilliant opening round of 65 at the Players’ Championship on Thursday can set his season alight and inspire a big performance at next week's Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

The Irishman saw his fortunes on the greens take a dramatic upturn following a tip from Graeme McDowell at Sawgrass last week, and he hopes that brilliant seven-under-par first round is the catalyst for an unforgettable summer.

A strong showing in America this weekend would see Lowry, who won the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur, arrive at The K Club full of confidence and ready to produce his best in front of an adoring home crowd .

Lowry has missed only two cuts from ten appearances in 2016, with his best performance so far coming at the Phoenix Open, where he tied sixth in February.

An unforgettable hole in one on the par-three 16th in the final round of the Masters left Lowry an Augusta memory to savour, but he left the first Major of the season knowing he should have finished higher than 39th place.

With a huge prize fund of €4m, a victory in Kildare would reignite Lowry’s Ryder Cup dream and send him into the most important stretch of golf in his career with the confidence and swagger that saw him claim his first World Golf Championship title last summer.

“Next week's a massive week for me,” said the Offaly man. "I feel like I have the game to contend in Majors and the biggest tournaments in the world."

“I'd love nothing more than to go back home next week and win the Irish Open. I am very much a confidence player, and rounds like I had on Thursday make me believe more and more that I am close to getting some big results.

“I need to kick on and start winning and getting into contention. I want to be playing well this summer because there are so many big events and I feel like I have the game to contend in Majors and the biggest tournaments in the world.

"I also want to secure my place on the Irish Olympic team and put myself in contention for the Ryder Cup team.”

“The Irish Open is a bit of a crazy week for the Irish players because there is so much going on during the week, but you have got to embrace it and try to enjoy it.

"I definitely thrive on playing in front of a home crowd, and the Irish fans are always brilliant with the home players. The support I get at home is unbelievable.”

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McIlroy Mixed Day at Wells Fargo

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Rory McIlroy moved into contention midway through his second round at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina on Friday before dropping down the field at Quail Hollow by the last hole.

The world number three did well to avoid a double-bogey on the 18th hole – when he pitched to within a couple of feet of the pin having had to take a penalty drop after finding water with his second shot – to card a three-under 69 that moved him to two under, six shots behind clubhouse leader Andrew Loupe.

McIlroy’s wedge play was the key to his success, a brilliant chip-in eagle from 80 feet at the seventh kick-starting a run that saw him knock in three straight birdies to get to five under for his round after 10 holes

He was within four shots of Loupe at that stage, the American having earlier carded a one-under 71 to post a mark of eight under. But McIlroy failed to keep the foot down, making three bogeys on the final seven holes, with just one more birdie coming on the 14th.

Shane Lowry was two shots outside the cut after carding a a one-over second round of 73.

Pádraig Harrington also missed the weekend with five-over par 77 second round left him on seven over.

Phil Mickelson used his short game pedigree to claw his way within three strokes of Loupe.

The five-times Major champion hit only nine greens in regulation but used his vaunted touch around the greens to piece together a two-under 70.

He got up-and-down to save par on eight occasions, his lone bogey coming at his final hole, where he drove into a bunker.

“I scrapped it around,” said Mickelson. “My short game was sharp. I hit a lot of good iron shots, but I had to play for par a little too many times because I didn’t put it in play off the tee,” he said.

Loupe, who shared the first-round lead with fellow American Steve Wheatcroft, had a chance to build a substantial advantage, only to bogey two of his final three holes for a 71.

“It’s half-time,” said the long-hitting Loupe, who is without a win in 53 starts on the PGA Tour and understands a 36-hole lead counts for little.

American Roberto Castro was one shot behind Loupe on seven under after a fine six-under 66.

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McIlroy Quail Hunt Struggles Opening Day

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Rory McIlroy recovered from a poor start to keep his hopes alive of a third victory in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.

McIlroy won his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow in 2010 and has recorded five top-10 finishes in six appearances in the event, including carding a course-record 61 in the third round last year on his way to a seven-shot win.

But the four-time major winner, who is the only member of the world’s top five yet to win in 2016, had to settle for an opening 73 on Thursday to lie eight shots off the clubhouse lead held by Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe.

Starting on the back nine, McIlroy dropped shots at the 12th and 13th before carding a double bogey on the 18th, where he missed the green with his approach and three-putted from 13 feet following a clumsy chip.

A birdie from 20 feet on the second was followed by another dropped shot on the next, but McIlroy then two-putted the fifth for a birdie and picked up another shot from just four feet on the sixth.

The 27-year-old had come close to holing his tee shot on the par three despite a disturbance among the spectators, with McIlroy and playing partner Rickie Fowler appearing to point out the offender to security staff.

Another two-putt birdie on the par-five seventh made it three in a row and although McIlroy narrowly missed from 15 feet on the ninth to get back to level par, he at least had not played himself out of contention.

McIlroy has not played competitively since finishing 10th at the Masters and admitted on Wednesday he was attempting to fix some “bad habits” which had crept into his game before Augusta.

He said: “I knew I was going to have to sort of play my way into the next couple of weeks.

“I started off pretty well today but then there was just some shots where I was thinking so much about the swing rather than actually the shot that I was trying to hit and that was really the problem for the front nine.

“I would much rather be in red numbers but I’m much happier where I am now than I was three hours ago. I just need to go out tomorrow and shoot a good second round, something in the 60s, get myself back into the tournament going into the weekend.”

At the top of the leaderboard, Wheatcroft carded two eagles, five birdies and two bogies in his seven under par round, while fellow American Loupe was more consistent with seven birdies.

India’s Anirban Lahiri was on his own a shot further back, while the best British performer in the first round was Scotland’s Martin Laird — who on three under was a shot clear of England’s Justin Rose, Greg Owen, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter and Germany’s Alex Cejka.

Padraig Harrington carded 74 to leave him nine off the pace with three bogeys on the front nine followed up by a further two including his last on the final hole.

Shane Lowry also finished two over par after dropping a shot on the 17th after birdies on 14 and 15.

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Lowry Joins Love III and Louis Oosthuizen

Shane Lowry

Shane Lowry ended a disappointing week on a thrilling note with a hole-in-one in the final round of the Masters at Augusta National on Sunday.

Lowry holed out with an eight iron on the 16th in a final-round 75, his tee shot landing in the perfect spot to the right of the hole and trickling down the slope into the cup.

"It was amazing to have a hole-in-one on 16 around here in the final round," Lowry said. "I just wish I would have been able to come up with more birdies, but it was a perfect shot.

"I just hit it in right of the hole and (the slope) just took it down and in. I feel pretty lucky to have a hole-in-one around this place, in this tournament. It's nice. I'm sure I'll get a picture somewhere and frame it in the house and it will be a nice memento to have."

After picking the ball out of the hole, Lowry motioned as if he was going to throw it into the crowd, but added: "No, I wasn't giving the ball away. My last hole-in-one in competition my parents were there as well in Dubai and I still have the ball from that. So I feel like I'll keep that one."

Lowry was just two shots off the lead after an opening 68, but fell out of contention with a 76 on Friday and struggled to a 79 in Saturday's third round.

"Yesterday it was just a tough day and I just let it get away from me," added the 29-year-old. "Friday didn't go too well obviously either. I feel like my game wasn't there, I didn't hole enough putts. I made a few bad decisions.

"I feel like I could have done a lot better and I'm a bit disappointed with the week as a whole. When I sit back and look at it, this week will definitely help me in the future. So I've got to look at it that way.

"There's a lot of good positives to take out of it. I feel like my iron play was quite good for most of the week, just a few bad breaks here and there the last couple of days and I feel like I could have been a little bit closer to the lead, but that's the way major golf is and that's the way this course is.

"Every week you play a major, especially the Masters, is a learning curve and I learned a lot this week and I'm sure I'll take it with me in the future."

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McIlroy All Smylie After Second Austin Win

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Rory McIlroy, if not exactly firing on all cylinders, made it two wins from two matches in his defence of the WGC-Dell Matchplay championship with a 3 and 1 victory over American Smylie Kaufman in the second day of group play.

As McIlroy marched on in pursuit of back-to-back wins in the championship, with a final group match against Kevin Na set to decide who progresses, there was only disappointment for Shane Lowry, who went from a position of strength in his match with Australian Marcus Fraser, three up at the turn, to collapse on the back nine and end up with only a halved match that ended any chance of progression into the knockout phase.

“Is there any point me coming down?” Lowry enquired forlornly to his caddie Dermot Byrne after hitting his tee-shot on the Par 3 17th into the hazard.

There wasn’t, the ball was never found, and despite Byrne’s best efforts, the ball was never found and that poor tee shot in effect – leading to a bogey on that hole for the second day in a row – ended Lowry’s hopes in the championship a day early. His final group match against Zach Johnson will be purely a matter of pride.

Lowry had started like a train – a birdie-birdie start giving him a two hole lead – and he turned three up and seemingly in total control only to lose the 10th and 11th to birdies and the match was back to all-square after Fraser holed from off the green on the 14th.

For McIlroy, there was again a doggedness about how he went about his business in his pursuit of defending the title. Just as his opening group match with Thorbjorn Olesen swung his way late on, he benefitted from the travails of his opponent, Kaufman, who hit one water ball after another on the homeward run.

McIlroy was one up through the turn but lost the 10th and 11th in what appeared to be a momentum- changer to go one down. He didn’t need to produce any heroics of his own, however, to regain the initiative as Kaufman was twice in the water on the 13th and again found water on the 14th for McIlroy to go all-square and then move one up.

Kaufman’s woes were evident again on the 17th, where a pulled tee shot into the same territory as Lowry ahead of him had found resulted in a concession of the hole and the match to McIlroy. The Northern Irishman will complete his group stage against Kevin Na in a winner-takes-all conclusion to see who advances to the last 16.

“It was nice not to go down the last but then it was a little scary at the start of the match, but I’m happy Smylie did concede there at 17 and I move,” said McIlroy, adding: “I certainly feel now after these two days that the longer the match goes on the better my chances are . . . the pleasing thing over the last couple of days is that when I needed to play some of my best golf, I have been able to do that.”

McIlroy made it two wins from two, as did Patrick Reed with a comprehensive 4 and 3 win over England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick to set up a showdown with Phil Mickelson.

Jordan Spieth also made it two wins from two with a 5 and 4 win over Victor Dubuisson.

Graeme McDowell’s involvement came to an early end, as he halved his match with England’s Paul Casey. 

Jason Day, who suffered a back injury in defeating McDowell on Wednesday, received intensive physiotherapy to enable him to play and confirmed his well being with a 5 and 3 win over Thonghai Jaidee that has the Australian set to move on to the knockout phase.

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McIlroy Wins as GMAC and Lowry Lose

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A shake of the hand and a pat on the shoulder from Shane Lowry to Martin Kaymer demonstrated his magnanimity after losing out to the German in the first match of the group stages of the WGC-Dell Matchplay championship at Austin, Texas. But such gestures were delivered with a sense of utter wonderment at how the Claraman had ended up on the losing end of the deal.

For most of the match, Lowry had the upper hand and was one-up with three holes to play only to lose the Par 5 16th and then three-putt for bogey on the 17th to lose back-to-back holes that swung the match in Kaymer’s favour. The one hole defeat has left Lowry with an uphill battle to escape the group stages.

In contrast, Rory McIlroy - who had trailed Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen for most of their match - fought back from being two down after 13 holes to win his match on the 18th green. The Northern Irishman birdied the 14th and 15th to get back to all-square and then won the 18th after the Dane missed the green to claim a one hole win.

Graeme McDowell was given a front row seat to two performances in his opening group match: the first was a close-up view of world number two Jason Day, his opponent, continuing his stellar form on the back of his Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament win; the second was an closer view of the Australian’s back injury late-on in their match which cast a cloud on Day’s 3 and 2 opening day win.

Day was required to undergo immediate treatment on his ailing back after suffering what were described as “shooting pains” down his lower back and into both legs, which has put a question mark over his continued participation in the WGC event and also a worry over his participation in the upcoming US Masters.

“He grabbed his back and said, ‘oh, I just tweaked it,” his caddie Colin Swatton said of his player’s injury, adding: “Up until that point, there was nothing.”

In fact, Day - who had opted not to play any practice rounds ahead of the tournament - had demonstrated his status as one of the game’s in-form players with a comprehensive win that also showed resolve. He was two down to the Ulsterman after just four holes, but won the fifth with a birdie and then claimed the eighth and ninth holes to turn one up.

McDowell’s day got worse on the Par 3 11th, where, with 192 yards to the flag, he put his tee shot into the lake and was ultimately forced to concede the hole. Day won the 12th with a birdie four to go three up, but instead of coasting home had to endure a painful finish as he suffered back problems from the 15th fairway where he was seen holding his back and stretching. By the time he reached the green, he was grimacing and in obvious pain.

“I’m not going to say it rubbed salt in my wound when a guy is 3 up with three to go and then he starts hurting and is able to limp up and win the match, but it does put a salty edge in it for me,” McDowell said, before adding, with a laugh: “Go down six holes ago if you're going.”

“But you never wish an injury on a guy,” he said, “especially on a guy on top of his form like Jason is, and as good of an athlete as Jason is.”

Day would move ahead of Jordan Spieth into the world number one spot with a win in Austin but that prospect was reduced by his latest medical setback and there is a question over whether or not he will be able to complete the two remaining matches in the group, with the winner advancing to the last-16. And, with the Masters just two weeks away, his fitness for the season’s first Major is an even greater concern.

As his caddie put it, “He’s been great all year,” Swatton said of Day’s health. “Just out of the blue. I don’t know if it was one swing or what it was.” Subsequently, his agent issued a statement confirming that Day’s post-round treatment had proven beneficial and he aimed to play his second round match.

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Lowry Tops Honda Leaderboard

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Shane Lowry signed for an opening round of 67 at The Honda Classic courtesy of a birdie on the 17th and then an eagle 3 on the 18th in the opening round of The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. .

He shared a threeway lead in the clubhouse with Sweden's David Lingmerth and American George McNeill, who has missed the cut in his last five events and whose last competitive round was an 84 in the Farmers Insurance Open.

"It wasn't easy," McNeill told PGA Tour radio after a round containing six birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. "The wind always blows here, it was the opposite direction to what it was in the practice rounds and the pro-am and a little cooler.

"I putted pretty phenomenal, that's really all I did well. I haven't made a putt in two years so it kind of felt good! To see them consistently go in, I didn't expect to make that many, but it was nice.

"Being back in Florida I feel a little more comfortable being back on Bermuda grass and greens. The stuff out west, I have fits out there just because I can't read it and putt it there. Being back in Florida helps."

Out on the course, the start of Sergio Garcia's round was as spectacular as Lowry's finish, the Ryder Cup star holing his approach to the second from 148 yards for an eagle two.

The world number 19 then holed from six feet for birdie on the par-five third to move into a share of the lead, with playing partner Rickie Fowler a shot behind after birdies on the second and third.

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