Despite Ryder Cup Comrades Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm Breathing Down His Neck, This Veteran Had a Secret Trick That Toppled the European Heroes

The European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship will be on its way on Thursday. The tournament should be played without any jitters this weekend after last year’s hiatus. On account of mourning the late Queen’s passing away, last edition’s Friday round did not happen.

While there were talks of a fourth round being extended to Monday, that did not materialize. The tournament ended on Sunday as planned, with three rounds to the score. Rory McIlroy finished the tournament as the runner-up, with Jon Rahm trailing behind him. But do you remember who finished first?

The Defending champion is in great form going in

With his most recent outing at the Irish Open, Shane Lowry put up an impressive show with his 12-under-par. He finished with a shared third position. Lowry was the winner of the BMW PGA Championship last year, where he had a solid lead with his 17-under after three rounds of play.

This year, in a conference ahead of the tournament, he was reminiscing and spoke about his previous year’s win. One question focused on how Lowry handled McIlroy and Rahm chasing right behind him. The Irishman confessed he was quite calm during the first nine holes, and that’s what stands out about last year the most for him.

“I felt like I got myself in position and I’ve got what it takes to do it against the best in the world.” He stated. Lowry got nostalgic about how he had friends over for the week, in 2022. He also commented on how the last week went well for him, referring to the Horizon Irish Open.

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, Lowry spoke about how responsible it makes him feel. He explained how, looking at his younger teammates, inspires him to take up his energy and play to their level. “You look at guys like Vincent Norrman who won last week and you look at the way European golf is, you want to make sure that you work as hard as you can” 

Read more: Despite Rory McIlroy and Fellow European Stars Perking Up the $9M Stage, 7X PGA Tour Champion Bemoans Plummeting Interest in Event

With important games ahead, including the Ryder Cup, a glimpse of how Lowry fared at the recent Irish Open is in order, perhaps.

Shane Lowry showcases his brilliant form at the Irish Open

The 36-year-old played consistently in the recent Irish Open. He scored a 68 in the first two rounds and in the fourth round, adding a 4-under to his score in each of them. His even par in the third round left the score unchanged, and he finished with 12-under, for a shared third position.

The chase toward the end was tight, with Hurly Long, the runner-up, jumping ahead of Lowry with his 13-under. With just two fewer strokes to his score, Lowry would have tied for the first position with Vincent Norrman, who had a score of 14-under. He eventually settled for a T3 finish.

Do you think the Irish golfer can repeat his magic from last year and outshine his Ryder Cup teammates? Only time will tell.

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