Shane Lowry might have struggled again on the greens, but he spectacularly holed a 140-yard fairway bunker shot for a closing eagle two in the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis. Lowry revitalized his hopes of taking a run at the leaders with a second-round 68 and yet another hole-out from outside 100 yards.
As Seamus Power shot a level par 70 to slip to 27th on three-under and Rory McIlroy crashed to a 73 to lie tied 58th in the 70-strong field, Lowry’s impressive shot was a highlight of the round.
“I was having a bit of a… I wasn’t scoring very well today,” a beaming Lowry said after his closing eagle, which was the seventh full shot he’s holed from outside 100 yards this year, left him tied 33rd on two-under, nine shots behind Denny McCarthy and Hideki Matsuyama.
“I was playing okay, and then I was saying to my caddie walking down 18, I am just not shooting the scores the last couple of weeks I deserve to shoot.
“And yeah, I managed to hole that. I’ve holed a lot of shots this year.”
Lowry has been deadly from outside 100 yards this year when it comes to hole-outs. He first holed out for eagle at the American Express in January and then made an albatross two from 256 yards on the sixth in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines before making an eagle two at the 14th in the Masters and two more eagle twos in the third round of the Memorial: from 195 yards at the first and 127 yards at the 14th.
“It’s been a strange year but I’ve holed out a lot from outside 100 yards, so there’s another one to add to the collection,” Lowry said.
The Offaly man followed bogeys at the fifth and sixth with birdies at the seventh and 14th to sit on level par before he made that two at the 440-yard eighth to revive his interest in Memphis.
“I said to my caddie walking down to the green, hopefully that will get us going into the weekend.
“We’re only nine back of the leaders. Obviously, the course is playing tough, but there are a lot of chances out there. Hopefully, I can get it going now on the weekend.”
A Walk-Off Eagle From The Bunker
Lowry’s remarkable shot from the bunker on the 18th hole, a 140-yard shot that landed in the hole, left him in good spirits. Lowry's eagle, a walk-off shot that came from the bunker on the 18th hole, ended his round on a high note. It was his seventh full shot holed from outside 100 yards this year.
A Tough Day for McIlroy
McIlroy, meanwhile, struggled with his game, falling 11 strokes behind leaders McCarthy, who shot 63, and Hideki Matsuyama, who added a 65 to his opening 64. The Co Down man was three over for the par fives at TPC Southwind and carded a three-over 73 to slip to tied 58th in the 70-man field on one-over.
The world number three made a double bogey seven after finding water with his second at the third and while he birdied the fifth and sixth, he bogeyed the next two holes before dropping another shot at the par-five 16th, where he hit the edge of a cart path and a tree with his attempted escape from the trees.
He’s projected to fall from third to fifth in the FedExCup as the field jostles to make the top 50 in the standings and progress to the second Playoff event, the BMW Championship, in Denver next week.
Lowry's Performance
McCarthy and Matsuyama lead by a shot from US Ryder Cup star Sam Burns, with FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler lurking just two shots off the lead on nine-under after a 69.
The St. Jude Championship's FedEx Cup Points & Prize Money
The total prize money purse for the FedEx St. Jude Championship is $20 million. The top 30 players after the BMW Championship will make it to the finale, The Tour Championship.
Shane Lowry's FedEx Cup Ranking
Shane Lowry is currently ranked 10th in the FedEx Cup rankings and will more or less reach the Tour Championship without many complications. The top 50 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings after this week will proceed to the BMW Championship.
A Look Ahead
Shane Lowry will need to improve his scoring if he wants to make a run at the leaders in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The next few rounds will be crucial for Lowry, as he looks to make his way into the top 30 and secure a spot in the Tour Championship.
