Shane Lowry enters this week ranked 13th in the FedExCup standings and will be competing for the first time in the inaugural TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
He will start the tournament at 3 under par in the staggered format.
Though he's never played under this format – the Irishman likes it and understands why the PGA Tour chose it – Lawrie also has a different perspective on the tournament.
“In my mind, I'm looking at it as a five-round tournament,” Lawrie said. “I was three under par after the first round, seven strokes behind the leader. I've got to close that gap over the four days and see where it goes on Sunday.”
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Lowry has a slight advantage because East Lake is a new golf course, meaning he can play the same style of golf as before the renovation.
But he knows what it takes to perform this new Andrew Green song well.
“You just have to hit the fairway,” he explained, “and I think that's pretty exhilarating, especially off the tee, you've got to play your best. You've got to hit the ball well and have the right shot shape when you get from the fairway to the green. I've got to play a lot of good golf to win this week.”
“I've never been here before but I like what I see. I've played 18 holes over the last two days and I like a difficult golf course so I'm pretty happy with it.”
This tournament is the benchmark the PGA Tour uses to determine the season's winner, so the Challenge Course is a good way to determine who will win. Regardless of how some players feel about the format, Lawrie thinks it gives players like Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele the advantage they deserve after having a successful season.
“Scotty Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are having the best years of anybody and are way ahead of everybody else, for sure,” Lawrie said. [the format] I'm pretty good, and I've been doing pretty well the last few years. Coming to East Lake and starting with the same score as Scottie Scheffler, I definitely don't deserve that.”
Lawry had a strong year on the PGA Tour. He and Rory McIlroy won the Zurich Classic. The Irish native represented his country at the Olympics. He finished in the top 10 six times and in the top 25 ten times. Lawry only missed the cut twice this season.
He's worked hard to get to this point, and now he has a chance to prove himself among the other 29 golfers in the field. This course should be good for him, so it wouldn't be surprising if he does well.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
