SHANE LOWRY WAS left frustrated after finishing one shot behind winner Sepp Straka at the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.
The Irishman led for most of the back nine and shot a bogey-free card but Straka became the first Austrian player to win a PGA Tour event on Sunday with birdies on 14, 16 and 18.
Lowry had to birdie the last to force a playoff, when a heavy downpour occurred. Straka had already teed off and the extra distance allowed him to go for it with his second shot, making birdie. Lowry was forced to layup and unable to make his birdie putt.
“It’s hard to take, to be honest,” Lowry said, per Reuters. “I feel like I’ve got the tournament stolen from me today. I played the golf perfectly to win the tournament, and that’s this game sometimes and that’s this level.
“That was as bad a break as I’ve ever got. Especially when you’re standing on the tee and you see him over that left bunker, which I would’ve been able to do if there was no rain.”
Lowry moved up 15 spots to No. 35 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He was left hoping the breaks would even out at Augusta in April.
“Look, it is what it is. It’s a great week for me,” he said. “I’m very happy where my game is at. It’s a really nice week to take into The Players now.
“Like the next 24 hours will be tough, but my kids are here and my family. I’ll get on with my life tomorrow and I’ll be fine.”
Comedian Michael Fry is our special guest on this week’s episode of The Front Row, in partnership with Guinness. Joining host Seán Burke, Eimear Considine and Murray Kinsella, he chats about his family’s rugby background and his short-lived playing days, before using his musical ear to rank the anthems of each Guinness Six Nations team. Click here to subscribe or listen below:
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