Shane Lowry is firmly in contention heading into the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Golf Club.
The Irishman made a fast start on Saturday, making an eagle and four birdies on the front nine. What was looking like an extremely low score faded out on the back nine, however.
Lowry made seven pars, a bogey and a birdie on the last to finish the day 15 under for the tournament.
Lowry’s usually impressive putting deserted him at times on Saturday, but the 37-year-old will be relatively pleased with his position heading into the final day.
New clubs in the bag for Shane Lowry
Speaking to the media after his round, Lowry revealed that he’s testing out a new driver and irons during this week’s showpiece event.
“My game, like, I’ve been driving the ball really good. My iron play has been great. You know, I probably haven’t been holing as many putts as I would like. I feel like I’m putting all right, hitting good putts, not missing the shorter ones. And I feel like, yeah, a few putts drop, I can be dangerous,” Lowry explained.
“In saying that, I’ve 12 new clubs in the bag this week. I have a new driver and a new set of irons. What’s going on before me, I haven’t really thought about. I’ve just been trying to get used to this, and it’s going very well so far. Hopefully it keeps going that way.”
Vintage Shane Lowry at 2024 HSBC Championship
Lowry’s third round was one of the scores of the day at Yas Links. Inside the top ten, only Nicolai Hojgaard and Thomas Detry matched or beat the Irishman’s score.
Lowry will be confident that if he can produce more of the same, he will be the man to claim victory in the penultimate tournament of the season.
| Shane Lowry Tournament Stats Round Three | Field Average | Shane Lowry Tournament Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driving Acc(%) | 100 | 73.9 | 1 |
| Driving (Yds) | 313.5 | 313.4 | 40 |
| GIR (%) | 83.3 | 77.7 | 18 |
| Putts AVG | 29 | 30.3 | 11 |
| Putts Per GIR | 1.7 | 1.8 | 14 |
| Score | 66 | 69 | 4 |
| Scrambles (%) | 66.7 | 50.7 | 19 |
Belgian Detry was the man to fire the round of the day. The 31-year-old equalled Tommy Fleetwood’s first-round 62 to play his way into contention. Englishman Paul Waring leads the way on 18 under after carding a 73 on Saturday.
Rory McIlroy is 13 under after once again ending his round in disastrous fashion with a double-bogey seven on the closing hole.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
