Shane Lowry’s stellar performance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational didn’t just land him a hefty $1.5 million for securing the third place, but also catapulted him to the 37th spot in the world’s top-50, with a jump to the 30th position in the FedEx Cup standings. This is a promising sign for the upcoming PGA Tour season, with the potential of earning the much-coveted invitation to the season finale Tour Championship, something Lowry has yet to accomplish. He is now in a favourable position to reach this goal.
Imminently, Lowry is moving onto The Players at Sawgrass, which boasts a whopping $25 million purse. In his best form in ages, he’s playing excellent golf, reminiscent of his 2022 performance where he consistently secured top-five places. In acknowledgment of his recent victory at Bay Hill, Lowry stated it won him “Some well-needed FedEx Cup points”. He’d had the unique vantage point of witnessing triumph first-hand, demonstrated by winner Scottie Scheffler.
Lowry’s progress in the various rankings is the fruit of his commendable form in recent tournaments, especially evident in the Cognizant Classic and the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he led the pack into the final round of both tournaments. He aims to keep this impetus in The Players, where his best performance was a joint eighth position in 2021.
Lowry’s victorious run at Bay Hill – his first shot at a PGA Tour win since the 2019 Open and any win post his success at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2022, was unfortunately thwarted by bogeys in his initial two holes. Despite confessing to being slightly rattled, Lowry remarkably regained focus and secured a solid third place.
Lowry hailed Scheffler’s performance, asserting that there are only a handful of players worldwide who could compete with him in that form. He further admitted that he might not be among them while acknowledging Scheffler’s deserved position as the world’s top player.
Lowry intends to spend the coming days in contemplation and reflection, despite his immediate focus remaining on his next game, The Players. With an energetic stride, he will travel to Singapore next week to continue his DP World Tour as part of his preparation for the upcoming Master’s next month.
Lowry has shown impressive performances at Palm Beaches and Bay Hill over the previous weeks and now sets his sights on Sawgrass. He noted that tough golf courses suit his style, where the capacity to persevere and fight relentlessly is key to success. His efforts at Bay Hill earned him the third spot, but he is striving to advance further next week.
Notably, Lowry will be joined by Rory McIlroy and Séamus Power, two other Irish players on the field in Sawgrass.
McIlroy’s season in America, however, is yet to hit stride. Despite winning the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP Tour earlier in January, he hasn’t managed to secure a spot in the top-20 in the four tournaments he’s competed in so far on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy exhibited formidable driving skills at Bay Hill, topping the driving distance rankings with an average drive of 321 yards and the longest drive at 365 yards. He also ranked second for strokes gained off-the-tee. However, his accuracy in hitting greens in regulation lagged behind, placing him 40th in the field.
This marks the 14th appearance of McIlroy at The Players, a championship he previously won in 2019 and where he placed in the top 10 three consecutive times from 2013 to 2015. He’s thoroughly familiar with the challenges that the TPC Sawgrass course offers. “I’m confident about my tee shots. If you can manage to keep the ball in play at this course, you’re already winning half the battle. However, it also presents small, stringent greens that demand precision in both approach play and hitting on the correct levels. Currently, my main concern is improving my approach play which seems to be problematic for me. I have a three-day window to sort it out and put in some good practice.”
In one of the highlighted groups for television broadcast at Sawgrass, McIlroy will be seen in the same group as Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth.
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