Shane Lowry has set himself the target ‘sneaking’ a top-10 finish heading to the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Lowry posted a third round 69 to head to the last day sharing 27th place at four-under par with the Offaly golfer now to tee-up at 11.10am ensuring he should get his wish of seeing most of the 8.45am starting Ireland-v-Scotland Rugby World Cup opener.
The Open Champion trails 11 shots behind the leading duo of Spain’s Jon Rahm and former Masters winner, Danny Willett with each shooting scores of 68 to move to 15-under par.
Rahm somewhat opened the door on his rivals in letting slip a two-shot lead with a bogey on 17 and a par at the last.
In Lowry’s quest for a top-10, he is trailing only four strokes adrift of six players, including defending BMW PGA and fellow Open winner, Francesco Molinari tied in ninth on eight-under par.
Lowry birdied the 10th for a second day running and then managed birdies also at 14 and 17, and at those two holes for a first in three rounds.
“It is always nice to break 70 anytime around Wentworth as it was not easy, and a little tricky with the wind,” he said.
“I don’t feel I played unbelievable but I managed to shoot a decent score which is always nice.
“The plan now is to try go out tomorrow and try and sneak a top-10. I am in a position now to hopefully achieve that goal, and if I did that, I would be very happy with my week.
“So, I just have to go out and play as good as I can to give myself a bit of confidence heading into the Dunhill Links next week.
“I can’t win this tournament now but I can get some form and help boost my confidence by playing well tomorrow before going to St. Andrews.”
And helping ease what was clearly continuing disappointment in his speech was the opportunity to play the third round in the company of Spain’s legendary, Miguel Angel Jimenez.
“It is always great to play with people who you watched when you were younger and with Miguel saying this is his 31st year on tour now, so we had good fun out there,” said Lowry.
“The thing is though Wentworth is a tricky golf course and you are trying to focus on your own game but it is nice to go out and play alongside guys like Miguel.
“He’s clearly doing very well on the Seniors Tour so it was good to be able to catch-up with him.”
Leave a comment