Whether he makes the European Ryder Cup team automatically or needs a wildcard, Shane Lowry’s putter caught fire as he sent captain Luke Donald the perfect message with a blistering 63 to thrust himself into the Tour Championship mix.
Lowry holed over 190 feet of putts including a sensational 98-footer as he came home in 29 to climb to seven-under, level with Rory McIlroy and within six shots of Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley.
The Offaly man is back in the frame for a maiden Tour Championship title and with that would come the FedEx Cup. But despite all that he would not earn any Ryder Cup points leaving himself vulnerable to being leapfrogged by Rasmus Hojgaard at the DP World Tour’s British Masters.
It would be the mother of all shocks if Lowry wasn’t part of the twelve-man European team for next month’s contest in Bethpage Black but he admits he was unaware of the possibility of missing out on an automatic spot on the team.
“Obviously, the chat is what the team is going to be like, who’s going to get picked, who’s not,” Lowry said of the European chatter this week. “This is with the guys in the locker room; obviously, it has nothing to do with Luke or anyone
“But yeah, I’d be fairly focused on it [the Ryder Cup], that I want my game to build into it well.
“Obviously, I’m here to do well in the FedExCup this week, but I’d like to build my confidence over the next few weeks, over this week, Ireland, Wentworth, then hopefully into Bethpage and help the team as much as I can.”
Because the top six automatic qualifiers for the USA team were finalised after last week’s BMW Championship, players cannot earn Ryder Cup points at the season ending Tour Championship. Hojgaard needs a top-30 finish at the Belfry.
“I only found out about that Monday,” Lowry added. “I thought I was guaranteed getting points this week. I thought I was going to be pretty much guaranteed on the team.
“I was somewhat disappointed to hear that. But the rules were made at the start for qualifying, and that was it.
“I think I finished four points behind Tyrrell [Hatton], which is pretty much a shot, which would have been nice.
“But obviously I don’t know what Rasmus is going to do this weekend, but it looks like he’s probably going to pass me up, and I’m going to need a pick next week, so hopefully I get a nice phone call off Luke.”
Bethpage Black would be a first away Ryder Cup experience for the likes of Robert MacIntyre, Ludvig Åberg, Rasmus Hojgaard and Sepp Straka but Lowry has experienced the hostility of facing America in their own back yard. Abuse thrown towards him will be water off a ducks back but he hopes his wife Wendy isn’t targeted again like she was at Whistling Straits four years ago.
“So when you’re prepared for what we’re going to get, when you’re prepared for the worst, I think you’d be able to deal with anything, whereas if you’re at a regular event and someone heckles you, it kind of comes out of nowhere and that kind of is a little bit whatever.
“But I think when you’re prepared for it, you’ll be okay.”
“I think if it gets personal towards your family, that’s the only thing, your wife or whatever that’s there,” he said.
“I think that’s the only thing that could really hurt you. Nothing towards me will hurt me. I’ve heard it all.”
Lowry lies in a share of seventh place at East Lake while World Number One Scottie Scheffler is one shot closer on eight-under after a round of 69.
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