Lowry rallies in Memphis; Caldwell, Dawson and Kilpatrick shine; Women chase Homes
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: Shane Lowry of Ireland plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 11, 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
SHANE LOWRY produced a late birdie burst but still trailed Harris English by six shots as Rory McIlroy struggled in the WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis.
The Offaly man birdied three of his last six holes to open with a two-under 68 and share 26th place at TPC Southwind.
English went out in seven-under 28 then bounced back from bogeys at the 10th and 12th with birdies at three of the last four holes, carding an eight-under 62 for a two-shot lead over Ian Poulter, Jim Herman, Matthew Wolff and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz.
McIlroy struggled to two-over 72 to lie 62nd in the 66-man field after twice leaving bunker shots in the sand as he sandwiched two bogeys and a double-bogey between birdies at his first and last holes.
In California, Joel Dahmen scored 16 points with eight birdies in a bogey-free round to take the first-round lead in the Barracuda Championship with Pádraig Harrington tied 71st on three points after mixing three birdies with three bogeys.
Players receive 8 points for an albatross, 5 for eagle, 2 for birdie and 0 for par. A point is subtracted for a bogey, and 3 points are taken away for a double bogey or worse.
Meanwhile, Jonny Caldwell is looking for his second European Tour win after he put four successive missed cuts behind him and opened with an eight-under 64 to sit alone in second place, one stroke behind Scotland’s Calum Hill in the Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews.
“Delighted that a bit of the work I’ve done over the last week or so with my coach at home is paying off,” he said. “Hopefully I can keep going forward.
“It’s a bit of a pendulum, you just have to find that medium, hopefully with the work I’ve done the last week or two it’s starting to turn a corner again.
“I suppose (the win) takes a bit of the pressure off after missing four cuts in a row, that I don’t have to put pressure on myself to have good weeks to get the money up.
“Having those exemptions knowing I’m in the big events, with the big prize funds and the bigger points, it does take a bit of the pressure off but I still put pressure on myself to play well, make cuts and play well at the weekend.”
Gavin Moynihan’s 70 left him tied 35th with Niall Kearney 40th after a 71 but a 73 for Cormac Sharvin and 79s for Tom McKibbin and Paul Dunne left them struggling to make the cut.
If Caldwell was pleased to rediscover form in Scotland, it was a similar story for Tramore’s Robin Dawson as he put 13 consecutive missed cuts behind him by opening with an eight-under 64 in the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge.
He was tied for second, three shots behind Dane Marcus Helligkilde with Paul McBride and John Murphy 27th after 68s.
Rounds of 72 for Jonny Yates and James Sugrue, a 73 for Conor O’Rourke and a 74 for David Carey leave them battling to make the weekend.
In Mayo, Banbridge’s Richard Kilpatrick fired a six-under-par 66 to take control of the 111th Irish PGA Championship on the Wild Atlantic Dunes Course at Carne Golf Links.
Kilpatrick’s bogey-free, six birdie round earned him a two-shot lead over Mark Staunton with defending champion Simon Thornton from Tulfarris Golf Resort a shot further back on three-under.
“I played very solidly, didn’t hit one driver and kept it in play,” said Kilpatrick. “I controlled and managed my game well and holed a few putts.”
In the R&A Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa, Ireland will face England for the women’s title today after their 6-3 win over Wales.
The boys and girls team lost 12.5-8.5 to Scotland to remain winless as the senior men and women tied 6-6 with Scotland who face England for the title.
