Louisville (United States) (AFP) – Shane Lowry would love to follow matching the lowest round in major golf history on Saturday with capturing his second career major title at the PGA Championship on Sunday. And the 37-year-old Irishman sees himself as just the danger-man who could do it.
Lowry became only the fifth player in major golf history to fire a 62 in Saturday’s third round at Valhalla, his bogey-free nine-under par effort leaping him from eight strokes adrift to a prime spot in the hunt over the last 18 holes.
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“It’s nice to finally see a few going in the hole because it has been a slow year for me on the greens,” Lowry said. He wants to add another trophy to his Claret Jug from winning the 2019 British Open. “I’ve been fortunate to do it before and to win one is pretty good, but to win multiple, you’re kind of a bit of a different level,” he said. “Yeah, it would mean a lot to me.”
Lowry has had three other top-five major finishes, most recently sharing third at the 2022 Masters. “I go out and fight hard. I’ve been in this position a few times before,” he said. “Hopefully I can bring some of that with me tomorrow and just give it everything. I feel like tee-to-green, I’ve been as good as I’ve ever been this year. I’ve sort of felt all season that if I could warm my putter up I could be dangerous.”
Consider him a Danger Man after four birdie putts between 13 and 19 feet on the front nine, a 37-footer at 13 and a 32-footer at the par-3 14th. “Regardless of what happens, it’s a nice position to be in,” Lowry said.
Lowry said he enjoyed every minute of his round, but was heartbroken at missing a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet at the par-5 18th for an unprecedented 61. “Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62. I knew what was at stake,” he said. “Just didn’t hit the ball hard enough. Had it on a good read and just broke away from the hole. I just really wanted to hole it. Probably too much. I stood back and allowed myself to enjoy the moment. It was a pretty cool moment to have.”
Lowry, who last month shared a PGA Tour pairs win with Rory McIlroy at New Orleans, said he didn’t have any carryover from that victory but has tweaked workouts. “I’ve changed up how I’ve been practicing the last two weeks, sort of getting away from the technical side of it and just trying to hole putts and doing a lot of drills,” he said.
– Feeding off Rose –
Lowry played alongside European Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose, a 43-year-old Englishman who won the 2013 US Open. He made five birdies on the first seven holes exactly as Lowry did as they fed off each other.
“We were for sure,” Rose said. “Good energy out there. You feed off the crowd, too. There was a nice energy about the group as well. Once you got a sniff of the leaderboard, the intensity goes up, keeps you focused and hungry and keeps pushing you forward.”
Rose wouldn’t complain about a second major title, either. “Still believe in myself,” Rose said. “Still believe that I have these opportunities in me in majors for sure.”
© 2024 AFP
