Soggy finish can't dampen Lowry's spirits at Travelers
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry could afford to shrug off three late bogeys and leave the Travelers Championship for home with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
The Offaly man needed a confidence boost in Connecticut after a poor run of results, which led him to part ways with caddie Darren Reynolds and call in his former bagman, Dermot Byrne, to shake things up.
A late afternoon thunderstorm delay at an already rain-soaked TPC River Highlands did him no favours as he followed his first bogey of the day at the 14th with two more at the 16th and 17th after the restart.
But while that meant he closed with a level par 70 to tie for 22nd on 13 under, missing out on his first top 10 finish since March, previous rounds of 68, 65 and 64 can only give him confidence as he returns to Europe for the Scottish Open and The Open.
As for the tournament, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland must return for a sudden-death play-off at 9 am local today (2 pm Irish time) after they tied on 21-under in fading light last night.
Scheffler fist-pumped after he made a clutch nine-footer for par on the 72nd green to shoot a 68 to Hovland’s battling 69.
The world number one was a shot clear of clubhouse leader Collin Morikawa, who shot 61, on 21-under when play was suspended initially for one hour and 23 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
Hovland birdied the 14th and 15th when play resumed to join Scheffler in the lead.
But after missing a 25-footer at the last for birdie and victory, he watched Scheffler save par to stay alive, having run a slippery 36-footer nine feet past.
“Obviously, I would have liked to have gotten it done in regulation, but to have a chance again tomorrow to win, feeling pretty good about that,” Hovland said. “So try to get a good night's sleep and be fresh.”
As or Scheffler, he was relieved to give himself another chance to end his five-month wait for his second win of the season.
“It's nice to be able to hole those putts, keep myself in the tournament,” the Texan said.
“It's more fun when you're making the ones to win, but to keep yourself in it is also nice.
“Like I said, I live another day until tomorrow, and will be coming out in the morning and see what I can do.”
In the women’s game, Haeran Ryu (25) made history with her two-stroke win in the KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine National in Minnesota.
The South Korean became the first player since Carol Mann in 1964 to win a women's Major when trailing by 10 shots or more after the first round.
Leading by a shot overnight from Canada’s Brooke Henderson, she closed with a two-under 70 to win on 13-under from her compatriot Ina Yoon.
Henderson and the Netherlands’ Dewi Weber were three adrift in third while world number one Nelly Korda came up short in her bid to become just the third player to win the first three Majors of the season.
The Floridian was never comfortable on the greens and signed off with a 73 to finish seven shots behind the winner, tied for eighth on six-under.
“You guys made that such a big thing,” Korda said of her hat-trick bid. “I didn't think about that, no.
“I was just kind of disappointed in the way that I played this week, not that I came up short really.”
Leona Maguire shot a four-over 76 to tie for 53rd on five-over and now travels back to Europe for next week’s Amundi Evian Championship.
On the PGA Tour Champions, Pádraig Harrington's wait for his first win of the season goes on after he lost to Dicky Pride’s par at the first play-off hole in his bid for four wins in a row at the Dick’s Open in New York.
But he still heads to Scioto Country Club in Ohio for his defence of the US Senior Open this week with positive thoughts after making a tricky four-footer for birdie at the 18th just to force sudden-death.
“Good thing for me, positive for the week, a lot of good things for me,” said Harrington, who shot a six-under 66 to match Pride on 18-under but couldn’t convert an eight-footer for par at the first tie hole to stay alive after driving into an awkward position under a tree.
“Today it was one of those -- it's always hard when you're playing a golf course that you need to get momentum. It was there to be had, but when you're leading or in or around the lead, you're a bit defensive.
“I felt Dicky [who shot 65] just completely outplayed me all the way through.
“He played great. It would have been a travesty if he lost. It doesn't mean I wasn't wanting to win, but he played great.
“He hit all the shots, putted great, hit it close all day. He really did play really well.”
