Shane Lowry looked like a player drained of energy, as his odyssey of recent weeks – Japan to China to Turkey – caught up on him, finishing with a final round 75 for 287, one under, that left him tied-62nd alongside Pádraig Harrington, far removed from the drama which unfolded in the battle for the title.
The good news for him? Lowry remained in third place in the Race to Dubai standings with just two tournaments – the Nedbank in Sun City and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai – left to decide the season’s number one. For Lowry, a week’s holidays in Dubai beckons.
“I tried my best out there the last couple of days and it just didn’t really happen for me,” said Lowry. “Maybe I was expecting too much after my good day on Friday. I don’t know. I was thinking about it going around, and it shows me that I am probably doing the right thing in not going to Sun City.
“I said I wanted to go to Dubai fresh and I am excited for a few days off and then towards the end of next week I will get the clubs out again and do a bit of practice. Hopefully I can go [to Dubai] and put up a good performance. No matter what happens in Dubai, I will be happy with what I have got at the end of the year.”
Lowry’s 65 in the second round was the high point of a disappointing tournament, his woes exemplified in the final round where he suffered back-to-back water balls on the fourth and fifth holes of his final round.
“I honestly thought I wasn’t going to hit a bad shot [on Friday], and then I went out there and felt I wasn’t going to hit a good shot at the weekend. It is a mad game, it’s the reason we all love it and the reason we keep going to the practice ground day in and day out.”
While Lowry is sticking to his plan to skip Sun City, Harrington heads there on a sponsor’s invitation.
Meanwhile, on the Challenge Tour, Cormac Sharvin, despite a disappointing final round of 73 for 291 to finish in tied-35th, stayed inside the leading 15 players on the rankings (finishing up in 11th) to secure his full European Tour card for next season.
