Lowry takes on Reynolds up to Masters at least; Power wins

Lowry takes on Reynolds up to Masters at least; Power wins

Darren Reynolds will carry the bag for Shane Lowry for the next few months at least.

Shane Lowry will have Bray caddie Darren Reynolds on his bag up to the Masters and possibly beyond.

The pair will team up at this week's WM Phoenix Open for the start of an important five-in-a-row run that includes the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, the Honda Classic, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

Lowry parted company with Open-winning caddie Brian "Bo" Martin after the Dubai Desert Classic and has now decided to take on Reynolds up to and including the first Major of the season before sitting down with his team to reassess his options.

Reynolds has caddied for a host of European Tour players including Roger Chapman and Paul McGinley.

He caddied for Paul Dunne when he won the British Master in 2017 and after a spell with Lucas Bjerregaard, he helped Frenchman Antoine Rozner to multiple DP World Tour wins before moving on to work for Rozner's compatriot Alexander Levy.

He has worked for Lowry on a part-time basis before though the Offaly man complained he couldn't be as forthright with him as he would be with Martin.

"Bo [and his wife, Orla] were having another baby and I had a good friend, Darren Reynolds, caddying for me and I didn't perform for two months," he told Paul Kimmage last year.

"I didn't feel I could be myself with Darren. It was all too nice. I'm a competitor, and I'm out there trying to do my best and people think ... I keep saying 'people think' but what do I care what people think."

Reynolds will be Lowry's fourth caddie after Dermot Byrne took over from his Clara friend Dave "Shaper" Reynolds, who helped him win the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur.

Meanwhile, Kilkenny’s Mark Power won his second collegiate title yesterday when he captured the Battle at Brian’s Creek in South Carolina.

The Wake Forest star shot rounds of 69, 70 and 68 to win by four strokes on nine-under as Wake Forest also took the team title.

Power is hoping to turn professional after this year’s Walker Cup at St Andrews.