Lowry Might Become Cup Tied

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The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational next year will not be sanctioned by the European Tour as it clashes with the Open de France.

The Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone, which is usually held in August, is being moved forward in 2016 by more than five weeks to accommodate golf’s return to the Olympics in Rio.

The WGC tournament will now be played between June 30 and July 3, the same date as the French Open which is one of the oldest national championships in European golf.

In a statement, the European Tour said: "The Alstom Open de France is the oldest national open championship in continental Europe and has been a fixture on the European Tour International Schedule since the Tour's formation in 1972.

"Furthermore, next year's tournament at Le Golf National will be the 100th staging of the event.

"Withdrawing the sanction means that the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational will not be part of the 2016 European Tour International Schedule, nor will money won in it count towards the Race to Dubai or for Ryder Cup points."

This year’s Bridgestone event was won by Shane Lowry, although a number of European Ryder Cup hopefuls may have to rethink their schedule next summer depending on their qualifying ranking at the time.

Keith Pelley, chief executive officer of the European Tour, said: “The Albatros Course at Le Golf National is currently undergoing renovation to prepare not only for next year’s landmark tournament but also for the staging of the Ryder Cup in 2018.

“We are confident that next year’s event, with an increased prize fund alongside the current renovations to the golf course, will properly reflect the importance of the tournament alongside the 100th anniversary celebrations.”

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Shane Lowry Now Nineteen

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Shane Lowry heads into this week’s US PGA Championship at a career-high 19th in the world after claiming the biggest victory of his career in brilliant fashion in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Lowry carded a flawless final round of 66 at Firestone Country Club to finish 11 under par, two shots ahead of double Masters champion Bubba Watson, with former US Open champions Justin Rose and Jim Furyk another two shots back.

“It’s hard to believe but I played good today,” Lowry told Sky Sports 4. “I was quite nervous out there towards the end but made a lot of good decisions, hit the ball well and got a bit of luck as well which was nice.

“It’s great to be able to pull something off. I was kind of doubting myself a little this year, things haven’t been going my way but when you come out the other end it’s always nice.”

Lowry began the final round two shots off the lead but wiped out the deficit with birdies on the second and eighth before a spectacular recovery over the trees on the 10th set up another from two feet.

That gave the 28-year-old a two-shot lead and although Watson twice closed within a shot, Lowry found himself needing to par the last two holes for victory.

After his approach to the 17th ran up against the collar of rough Lowry produced an excellent chip and held his nerve to hole from five feet, but looked to be in trouble when he pulled his tee shot on the last into the trees.

However, the former Irish Open champion – he was still an amateur when he won the title in 2009 – found a good lie in the rough and powered a wedge over the trees to 11 feet, from where he holed for a birdie to make certain of the first prize of 1,570,000 US dollars.

“I was trying to get it on the front right of the green but pulled it a little bit, it went through the tree and rest is history,” added Lowry, who missed the cut on his US PGA debut at Whistling Straits in 2010.

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Lowry Wins WGC-Bridgestone

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Shane Lowry shot a flawless final round of 66 to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and claim his third European Tour title.

The Irishman fired four birdies on Sunday to finish the tournament on 11 under par, two shots ahead of two time Major Champion Bubba Watson.

Lowry began the final round at Firestone Country Club two shots off the lead held by overnight co-leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk, but he wiped out the deficit with birdies on the second and eighth holes.

The 28 year old began his back nine with a birdie on the tenth to take a two shot lead over the chasing pack on ten under par.

Furyk went within a shot of Lowry when he sank his five foot birdie putt on the 11th, only to bogey the next and drop back to eight under.

Lowry maintained his two shot advantage with a superb par save from 20 feet on the 14th after finding a fairway bunker off the tee.

Lowry's lead was cut to one shot when Watson fired his sixth birdie of the day at the 17th to go to nine under par.

But he held his nerve and went 11 under par when he sank his six foot putt at the last to win his first WGC title.

Rose and Furyk finished in a share of third place on seven under, with Robert Streb one shot further back.

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Shane Lowry Leads Bridgestone

Shane Lowry moved to the top of the leaderboard after making a bright start on the final day of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Birdies at the second and eighth holes took the Irishman to the turn in 33, and with overnight co-leaders Jim Furyk and Justin Rose dropping shots early on, the 28 year old led the field heading into his back nine.

Lowry then made another gain at the tenth to go ten under par with eight holes left to play.

Furyk, who began the day on nine under, made a gain at the second to increase his lead before dropping a shot at the par three fifth.

Another bogey at the eighth saw Furyk slip back to eight under alongside countryman Bubba Watson, who fired four birdies and a solitary bogey in his opening 11 holes.

Rose fell off the top of the leaderboard when he carded bogeys at the fourth and seventh to drop to seven under par.

But the World Number Eight was back in a share of second place after a superb birdie at the tricky par four ninth.

Meanwhile Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter started strongly, carding an eagle on the par five second, but he then fell off the pace after a double bogey at the fourth and bogeys at the sixth and seventh, ninth and tenth.

Søren Kjeldsen fired seven birdies and three bogeys as he posted a battling 66 on Sunday to finish on three under par.

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Lowry Lurks in Rose Shadow

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Shane Lowry is looking forward to the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational after carding a three under par 67 on Saturday.

The 28 year old heads into the last day of the tournament on seven under par, two shots behind co-leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk.

Lowry's third round got off to a solid start, with birdies at the second and fourth holes taking him to the turn in 33.

He made another gain at the 11th and came within a shot of the lead after his fourth birdie of the day on the 12th, but he bogeyed the next two holes before a birdie on the 16th sent him to within two shots of the co-leaders.

He said: "I'm pretty happy. There were a couple of slip ups on the back nine, but all in all I played quite nice. 

"I gave myself a couple of chances coming in. It would have been nice to hole that one on the last but I'm right where I want to be going into tomorrow.

"I'm looking forward to it. It is a big event and I have a chance of going out there and doing something special.

"My game has been good for a couple of years now. I feel like I'm driving the ball quite well.

"If I can hole a few putts, I can do something special. 

"I just need to go out and do my own thing, chill out in the morning and get out there and hopefully do something good."

Englishman Ian Poulter is among a group of four players two shots further behind Lowry after he carded seven birdies and two bogeys on his way to an impressive 65 on Saturday.

The Ryder Cup star began his round with four birdies in the first six holes before a bogey on the seventh slowed his charge.

Three birdies and another bogey on the back nine saw him climb to joint fourth, along with Steven Bowditch, Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson.

Stenson carded five birdies and three bogeys as he posted a two under par 68 on Saturday.

Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka are among those another shot back on four under after firing 69 and 68 respectively on day three.

McDowell is pleased with the progress he has made in recent weeks. He said: "I'm really happy with the leaps I've made the last few weeks. My game is really turning the corner in a positive way, so I'm really happy. 

"This is a testing golf course off the tee. I haven't hit enough fairways, but it's getting there with the rest of the stuff. 

"It all bodes well for tomorrow. I am looking forward to it and going into next week."

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Shane Second in Akron

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Shane Lowry Firestoned Akron with a second round 66 to sit four behind outright leader Jim Furyk’s to seize a share of second at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Lowry signed for a four under par card and remains in the chase alongside Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson.

A booming 300 yard drive down the 11th left an approach of just 111 yards and he would spin that in to six feet to roll in the birdie that moved him into second place on his own.

It was the 14th however that possibly proved to be Lowry’s key hole. A misjudged second shot saw his ball scuttle into the bunker at the back of the green but from there he would flip it out to 10 feet before rolling in a crucial, clutch par putt.

That save would give him the momentum to find the back of the par three 15th green from where he rolled in a long birdie putt to close the gap yet further on Jim Furyk.

Pars at the 16th and the 17th saw him go to the final hole three behind the lead. However, a bogey there after his second shot flew the green meant that he signed for a 66 and had to settle for a total of four under par going into the weekend.

It could have all been even better as well, were it not for a short missed par putt at the ninth, his last. That bogey came after three birdies in four holes, including a beautifully played flop shot at the fifth which found the bottom of the cup for a two.

Graeme McDowell battled hard to remain in contention as he looks to improve on a dismal season so far.

As steady starts go McDowell had the steadiest of all, opening with 10 straight pars as he played the course the opposite way around.

However, trouble around the green at the 11th would see the 2010 US Open card a six and drop back a shot.

A birdie two holes later at the fourth, thanks to an exquisite approach to two feet, was nullified by a bogey at the sixth.

Three straight pars to finish the round was enough to see the 36-year-old sign for a one over par 71, leaving him nicely placed going into the weekend.

For Padraig Harrington it was a second successive two over par 72 as he failed to get any sort of birdie run together.

Level par for the round going to the 13th Harrington would fail to make par and followed that bogey up with another at the 14th to slip back to four over for the tournament.

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Lowry Firestone Putts Costly

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Shane Lowry let slip valuable strokes in the closing two holes on the opening day of the WGC–Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

Lowry was just a shot from the lead heading to his 17th before ending three shots behind clubhouse leader Rickie Fowler who carded a three-under-par 67 and less than a week after grabbing second place in last week’s Quicken Loans Open.

The Claraman was on the practice putting green despite recording a respectable 29 putts in his ninth round of the Firestone Country Club layout.

“I actually made the course look easy today and apart from the last hole, I hit the ball the best I’ve hit it for a long while,” said Lowry.

“So I am actually quite disappointed with that score as I also putted poorly and I will work on that aspect of my game this afternoon.

“I know that if I can get my putting sorted out I can do something really well these next two weeks.

“I haven’t dabbled in changing putters, so I am just sticking with the same one but in saying that it’s always about seeing the ball going in the hole.

“The sad thing out there today was that I was sand wedges into several of the holes, a lob-wedge into 11, a 9-iron into 13, a sand iron into 14, 16 and 17, and also the last so I am giving myself so many chances.”

“So while level I guess it’s a good score, if someone was to go out there and shoot five under then that would be a great score.”

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GMAC Fires 66 in Akron

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Graeme McDowell was cautiously optimistic after showing signs of a welcome return to form with a four-under 66 in the opening round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

McDowell set the pace at Firestone after firing four birdies in a front nine of 31, moving temporarily in to the outright lead with a six-foot gain at the tenth.

After dropping his first shot of the day on the 12th, the 36-year-old did well to scramble par on the next six holes to remain on four under and stay within one of early pacesetters Danny Lee and Jim Furyk.

“I drove the ball really well over the front nine,” McDowell said. “A few of the things that I haven’t been doing well lately have been driving and putting the ball and those are usually two of my go-to strengths.

“I hit it in trouble a couple of times on the back nine, but the fairways are a little narrow in places and if you miss them with the greens being as firm as they are you’re going to find yourself in a little bit of trouble.”

The Northern Irishman has managed just one top-10 finish on either side of the Atlantic this year, a share of ninth place in the early-season Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Although a poor 2015 has seen him drop outside of the world's top 50, McDowell remains confident an improvement in results could be on its way.

“The confidence should come back pretty quickly,” he added. “One 66 isn’t going to do it, I’m going to need a few.

“The putter was a lot more solid today. I know to what to do when getting on the board, it’s just a case of trusting my swing and continue doing what I’m doing.“

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