Shane Lowry admitted he let his emotions get the better of him after a lightning start to the Porsche Singapore Classic fizzled out in a three-under 69 which left him five shots off the pace.
Lowry, playing in his fourth event in a row as he gears up for the Masters next month, roared out of the traps with three birdies in his first four holes, but he lost momentum in the middle of his round, dropping shots on 5 and 13, before holing a ten-footer at the last for a welcome birdie.
“I played OK, actually, but it got a little bit iffy towards the end,” said Lowry who had just one practice round at Laguna National after a long haul flight from TPC Sawgrass.
“I got off to a great start and thought it was going to be easy, and it bit me back in the middle of the round. But I fought well and finished well and played OK, too.”
Lowry admitted yesterday that he was piling pressure on himself after a fruitful Florida swing on the PGA Tour that included two top-5 finishes and a T19 at the PLAYERS Championship.
“I actually learned a couple of places not to hit it, but I struggled on the greens today,” he said. “I struggled with the grain and it was quite windy, so it was hard to putt.
“Hopefully, I can get out tomorrow and the greens will be a little less windy and I can manage to hole a few putts. Hopefully, I get used to them as the week goes on.”
The highlight of the round from the Clara man was a near hole in one on the par-3 4th.
“It was just a perfect gap wedge from 141 or so and it would’ve been nice to do it,” he said. “I went three under after four and golf was easy.
“But I’m going to be a few back now and I need to be a bit more in control of my emotions.”
Despite trailing Jordan Smith, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Gavin Green by five shots in a share of 31st place, Lowry was pleased by his battling qualities.
“You know 69 feels way better than 70, though it’s not that much better.
“But it’s nice to shoot because you’re going out this morning, and you’re standing on the first tee eight behind the leader, and you know there’s a lot of good scores out there.
“When you’re not doing it, you just get a little bit frustrated, but I stuck with it and three under is OK.”
Meanwhile, Holywood star Tom McKibbin signed fora. one-under 71 to share 64th place.
Scoring HERE
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