Shane Lowry’s outstanding record at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth continued on Thursday with the Irishman opening up his week with a five under par round of 67.
Shane Lowry would have been one of the favourites heading into the BMW PGA Championship, with the 37-year-old winning at Wentworth back in 2022. Meanwhile, he has not even finished outside the top 20 at the event since 2016.
And it is another fantastic start to the tournament this time around. Lowry posted an opening round of five under par to put himself in a very strong position – Rory McIlroy posted the same number.
Lowry made eight pars and one birdie on the front nine, while there was to be three birdies after the turn and he also made an eagle. But there was also to be one bogey, when he hit a chip just a little too far on the par four 13th. He was unable to hole the putt back.
Shane Lowry suggests what many have got wrong about his game in the last couple of years
Lowry has long been considered one of the finest players with his wedges in the current game, and speaking on Sky Sports, his short game was compared with that of Phil Mickelson – and it seems that that was something he did not quite agree with. Instead, he suggested that it was another part of his game which had gone under the radar.
“People always talk about my short game but to be honest I think it’s probably one of the weakest parts of my game at the minute and has been over the last couple of years,” he said.
“I feel like my iron play has been up there with some of the best in the world over the past couple of years and that’s why I have been able to compete at a decent level for a while.”
What the statistics suggest this season
The statistics certainly suggest that Lowry’s iron play has overtaken his wedges as the real strength within his game. The 2019 Open champion is 10th on the PGA Tour this season for strokes gained with his approaches to the green.
Meanwhile, he is down in 104th for scrambling.
Lowry may perhaps argue that as his iron game gets better and better, there is less need to be as reliable around the greens as he is hitting the putting surfaces more often. And he has had some really impressive results, finishing in the top 10 on seven occasions on the PGA Tour. He also won alongside McIlroy in New Orleans.
He definitely appears set to be in the mix again this week as he looks to continue his bright start to trying to qualify for next year’s Ryder Cup.
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