Shane Lowry is no stranger to PGA National, the site of this week’s Cognizant Classic.
In 2021, the County Offaly native finished tied for fifth. A year later, he finished solo in second place in the Ryder Cup, one stroke behind teammate Sepp Straka.
This time, Lowry is at 13 under after 54 holes and shares part of the lead with British David Skins and American Austin Eckrot.
“It was pretty good,” Lowry said of his third-round 5-under 66.
“I got off to a really good start, got right into it and just kept going. I hit some great shots when I needed to.”
Lowry was blazing out of the gate, Birdie on 3 out of 4 holes You’ll soon reach 11 under.
However, the crucial moment of the round came on the par-4 8th hole, when Lowry hooked his tee shot into the water.
After the drop, the Irish had a 141-yard third.
He squeezed it within five feet and coolly rolled it for an unconventional but important par.
“You know when you come out on this golf course and in this tournament you’re going to face a little bit of adversity at some point, and today we had a little bit of adversity, but I felt like we handled it well,” Lowry said.
Then, on the par-4 13th, Lowry missed a 3-footer for par.
On the next hole, he had a great birdie chance and missed the putt from 12 feet.
That’s when his anger exploded, which may have made his mistake even worse.
“The 13th inning was very disappointing,” Lowry added.
“But I feel like I was really proud of myself after that, because sometimes when you miss a short putt like that, you mess up a little bit, and from there you hit the ball really well. However, I felt like I made a really good putt.” I was very satisfied with the reaction afterwards. ”
Lowry responded well, playing the final five holes at 2 under.he I made a birdie on the par 4 16th hole. Then he finished at 13 under par on the 18th hole.
He loves this golf course, even though it’s one of the most difficult courses PGA Tour players face all year.
“I like to play tough golf,” Lowry said.
“I like it when everything is at stake. On this golf course, you’re standing there while you hit a lot of shots, and one bad swing can add up to big numbers. That means a lot because we can potentially connect.”
Rory McIlroy was bitten by “The Bear Trap” on Saturday, especially in the 16th, when he took one bad swing. McIlroy wreaked havoc there, hitting a triple-bogey 7 and dropping out of contention for the championship.
Lowry, on the other hand, will not suffer the same fate and will be aiming for his first PGA Tour win since winning the 2019 British Open Championship.
“I’ve obviously played really well the last few days,” Lowry said.
“I don’t take anything for granted. I’m going to prepare as best I can in the morning, do the same thing I’ve been doing all week, and go out and give myself the best I can, if… If my best is good enough [Sunday], that would be amazing. If not, you’ll be back to square one on Monday. ”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
