Lowry looking for Masters rocket fuel in Houston
Shane Lowry of Ireland reacts to his par save on the No. 16 green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Shane Lowry is seeking a Masters boost and an end his decade-long wait for an individual win on US soil in the Texas Children's Houston Open.
The Offaly man arrives at Memorial Park in need of some positive feelings after his late mistakes cost him the Cognizant Classic and he went on to miss the cut in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players.
He had last week off to re-group and makes his first appearance at the Houston layout since he missed the cut there in November 2022.
The event moved back to a pre-Masters date two years ago, and it could be an ideal setup for the Clara man, as it rewards driving accuracy and precision iron play.
Lowry won't play again before the Masters and will likely head to Augusta National next week for some practice for the Masters, where he was sixth heading into the final round last year, only to fade to 42nd behind Rory McIlroy.
With world number one Scottie Scheffler withdrawing to be with his wife for the birth of their second child, Lowry is the sixth highest ranked player in the field behind Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Harris English, Ryan Gerard and defending champion Min Woo Lee.
He's off in the morning wave today alongside Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler as Seamus Power, who comes in from the alternates list for the third week running, goes out in the afternoon.
It will be the West Waterford man's fifth consecutive week on the road and while he believes his game is close, having made six of his first seven cuts, he knows he needs to drive the ball better.
"Short game has been much, much better," Power said at the Valspar Championship last week, where he finished 30th after a slow weekend.
"Long game is okay. It's good in spots. And then there are a couple of loose ones every day, which are just costing me and holding me back a little bit.
"But it's close. That's the frustrating part of golf, where it's very, very close and you're just waiting for it to happen."
Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh will also be looking to make something positive happen in the LPGA's Ford Championship in Phoenix.
Ranked 10th in the world less than three years ago, Maguire is now 112th following her missed cut in last week's Fortinet Founders Cup in California.
Rookie Walsh is also looking for a decent week after playing all four rounds but finishing dead last on her debut as an LPGA cardholder in the Blue Bay LPGA in China and joining Maguire in missing the cut last week.
On the DP World Tour, world number 22 Akshay Bhatia headlines the field in the Hero Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi.
"I'm very excited," said the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational winner, a global ambassador for the title sponsor, whose parents hail from India.
"I have always wanted to do this and just happy to finally make it work."
