Rusty Lowry ten back in Madrid; Q-School moves for Rice and Carey
Shane Lowry of Team Europe hits his tee shot on the first hole on the Black Course during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Michael Reaves/PGA of America)
Shane Lowry struggled to shake off his Ryder Cup ‘hangover’ and opened with a wayward four-over-par 75 in the Open de España in Madrid.
The Offaly man, who also started with a 75 last year before rallying to finish 13th, missed his first nine fairways and found just three in total at the tight and treelined Club de Campo.
He didn’t find the short grass until his 13th hole, by which stage he was five over, having made just one birdie against six bogeys in his first 11 holes.
As Lowry’s Ryder Cup teammate and playing partner Jon Rahm posted a 72, it was an even tougher day for Conor Purcell, whose 10-over 81 was the highest score of his DP World Tour career.
Ranked 146th in the race to make the top 115 who keep their cards, Purcell was propping up the 132-man field after he found just four fairways and mixed one birdie with eight bogeys and a triple bogey seven at the 16th.
Lowry picked up a shot at the par-five seventh coming home but ended the day tied for xth, 10 shots behind France’s Ugo Coussaud, whose 65 gave him a one-shot lead over Marco Penge, Frederic Lacroix and Bernd Wiesberger.
Tom McKibbin also had his troubles, but birdied three of his last five holes to shoot a 71 that left him joint 49th.
At the HotelPlanner Tour’s Hainan Open in China, Liam Nolan and Max Kennedy also got off to slow starts in the third-to-last event of the season.
Ranked 38th in the Road to Mallorca rankings with the top 20 earning DP World Tour cards, Nolan’s one-under 71 left him joint 39th, six shots behind Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo and Germany’s Jan Schneider, while 40th-ranked Kennedy was 73rd after a 73.
While Leona Maguire’s level par 72 left her eight shots behind Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol in the Buick LPGA Shanghai, it was also a demanding day for Ireland’s quartet of rookies in the LET’s Hero Women’s Indian Open.
Canice Screene was tied for 35th at DLF Golf and Country Club, seven shots behind India’s Vani Kapoor, after opening with a two-over 74.
Anna Foster and Annabel Wilson were 46th after 75s, while Sara Byrne’s 77 left her joint 69th.
Meanwhile, Ireland jumped 14 spots to 14th on two under at halfway in the World Amateur Team Championships for the Eisenhower Trophy in Singapore.
Stuart Grehan shot a four-under 68, Caolan Rafferty a 70 and John Doyle a non-counting 73, leaving them 12 shots behind South Africa, who had a five-shot lead over Australia, France and England.
Q-School — Rice makes a move in France; Carey moves up in California
Tim Rice moved to within five shots of the qualifying places heading into the final round of the DP World Tour Qualifying School First Stage in France.
He shot a two-under 70 at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil to share 37th on one under in his bid to make the top 17 and ties who progress to the Second Stage.
At the First Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in California, David Carey shot a third-round 68 (-4) to sit in fifth place with a round to go at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta.
The top 19 progress to the second stage.
