Shane Lowry was proud of his third place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational despite not featuring on the final day as world number one Scottie Scheffler romped to a five-shot win at Bay Hill.
Teeing off in a share of the lead in the final group with Scheffler, Lowry’s challenge never got out of the blocks and was ended by back-to-back bogeys to start his round before he fell three-over through seven holes.
He did however, claw his way back with birdies at the ninth, fifteenth and sixteenth for a level-par 72 and nine-under total and he admitted that even if he got off to a better start he may not have been able to cling on to Scheffler who cruised to an ominous win.
“There’s probably only a couple of players in the world that can live with him playing like that. Not sure I’m one of them,” admitted Lowry who was playing in his first Signature Event of the 2024 season and ended up claiming $1.2 million.
“I was obviously just disappointed I didn’t put any pressure on him early. I got off to a bad start, he got off to a good start. I was a few shots behind all at the end of the day. I’m sure Wyndham feels the same. But, yeah, he showed today why he’s world No. 1.”
Despite not converting a 54-hole lead for the second successive week there is reason to be cheerful for the Clara man who registered his best finish on the PGA Tour since April 2022 and will move back into the top-50 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
“I was a little bit shaken after those early bogeys, I hit a great shot on the second and probably just half a club out, but, yeah, this type of course, it gives you nothing. I was close to being a lot better this week, but another top 5, some well needed, much needed FedExCup points, and on to Sawgrass next week.”
It’s back-to-back top five finishes for Lowry who will head to TPC Sawgrass for the PLAYERS Championship in fine form particularly with the Masters looming in just under a month.
He was disappointed he couldn’t rally enough to put Scheffler under pressure on the back nine and feels the world number one wasn’t challenge by either he or Wyndham Clark who finished second on -10.
“I think he obviously played very well, but when he hit the bad shots he got them up and down, that was key. He holed the right putts at the right time. A couple of things change and you just never know. Like, down this stretch here, you put somebody, no matter who they are, no matter how good they are under pressure, you never know what could happen. I don’t think he got that.
“Now, I’m not saying that he wouldn’t have won, but I just didn’t get a chance to — I kept missing fairways and then leaving 30 feet for birdie and you run it by and you have four, five feet back, and these greens are difficult.
“So it’s tough for me to talk about and think about it right now, because I’m just in off the course and I was so focused on my own game and trying to have the best week I could, but I’ll sit down and reflect on it over the next couple of days and all in all it’s been a great week.”
Lowry had a wretched record at Bay Hill heading into the week, missing four cuts in five attempts with a best finish of 67th but he held the lead all the way until the final day and he appears to have found his mojo again when it comes to playing the tough courses.
“That’s what this course is like. It does it to you. I’m used to playing major championships and I’m used to playing tough golf courses, and you have to roll with the punches. I play these types of courses well. Obviously, my record is not great here, but I play tough golf courses well. Yeah, you just have to roll with the punches and keep going and keep fighting as hard as you can and see where it leaves you at the end of the day. For me, today it was third place. Hopefully, next week I go a couple better.”
Just a few weeks ago Rory McIlroy suggested Scottie Scheffler should employ a mallet putter on the greens and he may well have unleashed a beast.
Scheffler was imperious on the greens, particularly on the final day, ranking 5th in strokes gained putting for the four rounds as he eased to a bogey-free 66 to earn his second Arnie title in three years.
“Yeah, I played a good round of golf,” Scheffler said after claiming the $4 million winner’s cheque. “(My caddie) Teddy and I got off to a good start and I just do my best to keep things rolling.
“I didn’t look at many leaderboards today. I kind of stayed in my own little space and just tried to keep pushing.”
“Anytime you can win Arnie’s tournaments is pretty special,” he added. “He meant a lot to the game of golf and us being professionals and it’s truly an honour to win here.”
Rory McIlroy had a nightmare final round, slumping to a 76 ranking 57th of 58th for his approach play in round four, missing ten greens. Seamus Power finished alongside Rory on one-under after a 72 for his best finish in eight months in T21.
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