Shane Lowry Gets PGA Tour Card With WGC Win
- Dan Hauser
- 10 Aug, 2015
Shane Lowry came to his second shot on the 72nd hole on Sunday and did not like what he saw. After what he called “one of the worst tee shots he had hit all week”, the Irishman found himself way left and in the middle of trees, as well as the gallery. Holding onto a one shot lead over Bubba Watson, Lowry knew there was a lot riding on the next shot.
“I was just going in there praying that I could get it down there on the green,” Lowry recalled. “… It actually had a pretty horrific lie. It was sitting down in a hole. It was almost like someone had stood on it, but it was where the crowd was walking.”
What happened next, might go down in, at the very least, Irish golf history. Lowry opted for a sand wedge. He hoped to just get the ball in front of the green where he could call upon his normally steady short game to preserve the win. Instead, what he did was hit it onto the green where he made his birdie putt that turned his one shot lead into a two shot victory.
With that putt, his dream of hoisting the Gary Player trophy became a reality.
Lowry was hitting clutch recovery shot after clutch recovery shot with Watson right on his tail. While the final grouping of Jik Furyk and Justin Rose faltered, they were hanging around for most of the day as well, making Lowry’s final round, bogey free 66 even more impressive.
“It’s fairly special to go out and do that and such a good feel to shoot a bogey-free 66 on the golf course like that,” Lowry said. “I know it will stay with me now for the rest of my career, and hopefully I’ve got a long career ahead of me.”
The win comes with a three year exemption on the PGA Tour, meaning that Lowry can play on both sides of the Atlantic as much as he wants now. In addition, Lowry became the first non-PGA Tour member to win a WGC event since Martin Kaymer in 2011.
“To beat those guys down the stretch on a golf course like this … it just shows a lot about my game, that’s it good enough to compete at any level,” Lowry said.
JJ Henry Gets Final PGA Championship Spot With Barracuda Win
Four the second time in four years, JJ Henry won the Barracuda Championship, beating Kyle Reifers on the second playoff hole. After Henry sunk an eagle putt from the fringe on the send playoff hole, Reifers missed his 10 foot eagle putt to extend the playoff.
”I knew obviously playing here that it’s kind of coming down the mountain, if you will, from the front of that green. I knew there was a good chance the ball would get to the hole if I got it on line, and that’s exactly what I did. It went right in the middle of the hole. I don’t know how athletic I looked when I jumped up for joy, but it’s a heck of a feeling when you make a putt like that. When you do it to win on the PGA Tour is even that much more special.”
The win moved Henry from from 150th to 76th in the FedEx Cup standings and got a spot in the PGA Championship next week at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
