When you look at Shane Lowry’s efforts ahead of this week’s RBC Heritage, he’s virtually done everything but win in the past 33 months and the 66 events he’s contested since his Royal Portrush triumph.
A buoyed Lowry found his way the 220 odd kilometers south-east from a best Augusta National finish of T3rd to the Harbor Town course where he’s had two top-10s in four starts at Hilton Head in South Carolina. Lowry has been one of the more consistent players of late plying golf’s global stage, and we witnessed that again last week in Georgia.
The Offaly man’s career victory record already makes for impressive reading winning a major, a WGC, and three other victories, including his stunning success as an amateur in capturing the 2009 Irish Open.
Lowry has now played in 36 majors – seven Masters with last week’s T3rd a best, 10 PGA Championships and capped by T4th last year, nine US Open’s with a best of 2nd in 2016, and nine Open Championships with victory at Royal Portrush.
Shane Lowry all smiles after his score of 66 on the opening day of his 2017 debut at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.
Of the 66 tournaments Lowry has contested since his Open Championship win, he’s enjoyed three top 3s, seven other top-10s, 15 top-20s and only four missed cuts.
Lowry’s making his fifth showing at Hilton Head with a best of a T3rd in 2019 and a strong T9th a year ago.
“I’ve done okay here in the past”, he said. “I like coming here after the Masters because I feel like it’s such a chill week. And coming here on my best finish at Augusta is a huge lift for me.
“Hilton Head is just a nice place to come, a nice place to play golf, and it’s a lovely golf course. I would argue that’s probably one of the best stops on the Tour.
“I’ve brought so many positives from last week. I was pleased with all four days and also how I finished. Yeah, I went close and we don’t know how many more Masters chances we’ll get but my finish, as I said, was really good on top of some great golf all week”.
If you needed any further incentive to splurge a few Euro on the World No. 30, Lowry is ranked No. 1 in ‘Power Rankings’ by the Tour for the Euro 7.47m event, and with the comment: “Angling so hard and picking off another title. He’s been in the mix of stroke-play dogfights since November. Third in proximity, second in scrambling. T3 (2019) and T9 (2021) at Harbour Town”,
Joining Lowry will be 2013 RBC Heritage winner Graeme McDowell but with ‘G Mac’ continuing his slide down the World Rankings, and a dozen places to now World No. 404th.
IRISH TEE TIMES (Irish time)
Graeme McDowell – 12.54pm
Shane Lowry – 1.38pm
