Shane Lowry was unable to get into contention on moving day at the Texas Children’s Houston Open but he will be looking to finish on a high and take some momentum into the Masters in two weeks.
Lowry sits in a share of 34th place on five-under-par after a round of 69 at Memorial Park but it is a distance thirteen shots adrift of Gary Woodland who leads by one from Nicolai Hojgaard on eighteen-under after a 65.
The Offaly man endured an underwhelming first thirteen holes with a birdie on the third being cancelled out by dropped shots on the fourth and thirteenth, although he did finish strong with back to back birdies on 15 and 16 to end the round in red figures.
Lowry has been unable to emerge from his slump after his Cognizant Classic collapse and came into this week following back to back missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. However, a first bogey-free round on Friday since that week at PGA National suggested he was heading in the right direction again and he will be aiming to shoot in the mid to low 60s on Sunday to breathe fresh confidence into his season.
In the absence of top class talent this week as the season goes into a brief lull between a run of Signature Events and the Masters, a potential comeback story that would bring a smile to everyone in the golfing world is in position to come to fruition.
Woodland, who has suffered with PTSD ever since returning from brain surgery, is on the cusp of his first PGA Tour title since winning the US Open in 2019.
Neither he nor his closest challenger Hojgaard have punched their tickets to Augusta National yet with just two tournaments remaining.
The world No 139 said going public made him feel “1,000 pounds lighter” and he has been feeding off the crowd support in Texas and he would surely be a popular play at the Masters should he qualify with a victory.
Woodland started slowly but a run of four birdies in six holes on the back nine has put him in the driving seat.
“I got off to a little rough start. I was a little quick with everything early, kind of got a little wayward. Short game — I chipped the ball beautifully, which is nice, and made some nice putts early in the round to kind of maintain the momentum. Then once I settled in I hit some great shots on the back nine. It was a good fight, for sure.”
Heading into the final round, the 41-year-old insists he will be trying his best to keep his cool under pressure.
“I’ve just got to take a deep breath. I’ll have a good night ahead of me tonight to recover and rest, and tomorrow just don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m here, I put myself in this position for a reason, so take a deep breath and maintain what I’m doing.”
Danish star Hojgaard is currently ranked 47th in the world with the top 50 after this week’s tournament to receive invitations to the Augusta National major – his brother Rasmus, ranked 53rd in the world is T45 heading into the final round and will need to win at next week’s last chance saloon Valero Texas Open.
The 25-year-old played in his first ever Masters Tournament. Playing alongside the world number one Scottie Scheffler on Saturday, he briefly took the solo lead with a birdie on the tenth hole before finished up the round with five straight bogeys. He finished the tournament tied for 16th.
He is searching for his first PGA Tour victory and rounds of 68, 62 and 63 have propelled him into solo second place.
“It would mean a lot. That’s what we play for. 18 holes, there’s still a lot of players in the field that can win the tournament, but obviously we have, or Gary and I have a good chance tomorrow. I’m going to go out, try to build up the round like I did today, try to see where we end up. I’m happy where the game is at.
“I’ve never got it done over here yet, but yeah, you always — you know it’s going to be a grind, you know it’s going to come down to potentially the last few holes anyway tomorrow. So you’ve just got to stay in the fight and play your best and do your best and then let’s see where we end up.”
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