LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY | On a warm afternoon, all that stood between Shane Lowry and a place in golf’s history books was 11 feet, 10 inches of bentgrass turf on the 18th green of Valhalla Golf Club. Putt the ball into the hole for a birdie, and Lowry would become the first man to score 61 since major championships began in 1860.
He stood near his ball, arms folded, watching closely as playing competitor Jason Day putted from long distance and Justin Rose from much nearer. He learned from these two putts what he could. Now it was his turn.
This had been a low-scoring PGA Championship. On the first day, there had been 64 sub-par rounds, and tournament leader Xander Schauffele recorded the fourth 62 in major-championship history, having equalled that score at the Los Angeles Country Club in the first round of the 2023 U.S. Open. Easier pin positions, favourable weather conditions, newly sown Zoysia grass fairways and tees all contributed to a glut of low scoring at the 106th PGA Championship.
“I enjoyed every minute of it, obviously.”
Shane Lowry
Lowry crouched down behind his ball for one last look down the line. Wasting no time, he struck the ball and watched as it scarcely moved from a line slightly to the left of the hole, stopping perhaps 3 inches away. A sigh went up from the spectators. Instead of a 10th birdie of the day, it was a par-5 for a bogey-free 9-under 62.
Lowry had been eight shots behind the leader when he started his third round and was only two behind when he finished. His approach play had been exceptional, with clubs ranging from as long as a 4-wood on the par-5 seventh and a 3-iron on the 14th. But it was his putting that was almost unworldly. He holed a 14-footer on the second, putts of 13 feet and 17 feet on the third and ninth, respectively, a 37-footer on the 13th, a 32-footer on the 14th and a 7-footer on the 17th.
Lowry, a 37-year-old from Clara in County Offaly, Ireland, wore a broad smile afterwards as he reflected on his round.
“I enjoyed every minute of it, obviously,” said Lowry, the 2019 Open champion who teamed with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team title last month. “I am probably the most disappointed anyone can be after shooting 62. I didn’t hit the ball [the putt] hard enough. But look, I went out there with a job to do today to get myself back in the tournament, and I definitely did that.”
With the weekend momentum, Lowry shot 1-under 70 in the final round on Sunday to finish at 14-under 270 and tied for sixth place, his best result in a major championship since a tie for third at the 2022 Masters.
John Hopkins