Irishman Shane Lowry was still in disbelief moments after winning the biggest title of his career at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday and sewing up his PGA Tour card for the next three years.
The 28-year-old from Clara in County Offaly had overcome the last-day challenge of three major winners in Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose, firing a flawless four-under 66 to seal victory by two shots on the challenging Firestone layout.
“It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?” Lowry, a double winner on the European Tour, grinned as he spoke to reporters after earning a winner’s cheque for $1.57 million (Dh5.77m). “To be honest, it hasn’t sunk in yet.
“I mean, to beat those guys down the stretch on a golf course like this? This is probably one of the toughest golf courses, especially in this condition with how firm it was this week, that we play all year.”
Lowry, the first Irish player to win one of the four elite World Golf Championships events, was thrilled to post a winning total of 11-under 269 at tree-lined Firestone Country Club.
“I said at the start of the week, I’d take eight under par, and I thought that might win,” the world No 48 said.
“So to shoot 11 under par on this golf course ... it just shows a lot about my game, that it’s good enough to compete at any level.
“Hopefully I’ve got a long career ahead of me. I’ve got a good exemption there in Europe, a good exemption here on the PGA Tour as well, so the future looks OK as of now.”
Lowry, who became only the third amateur to win a European Tour title with victory at the 2009 Irish Open, was also happy to put behind him a run of three missed cuts in five previous PGA Tour starts.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I’ve been playing good most of the year, and things just haven’t been going my way. I’ve missed a couple of cuts by a shot.
“And I was getting very down on myself. But I played as good a golf as I’ve ever played the last four days. I managed to hole a few putts and get a bit of luck.”
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
%3Cp%3EThe%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20-%20Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Arabic%20Language%20Centre%20will%20mark%20International%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Day%20at%20the%20Bologna%20Children's%20Book%20Fair%20with%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Translation%20Conference.%20Prolific%20Emirati%20author%20Noora%20Al%20Shammari%2C%20who%20has%20written%20eight%20books%20that%20%20feature%20in%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education's%20curriculum%2C%20will%20appear%20in%20a%20session%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20discuss%20the%20challenges%20women%20face%20in%20getting%20their%20works%20translated.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
