{"id":425031,"date":"2026-01-20T08:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/425031\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T08:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:05:08","slug":"shane-lowry-sore-after-dubai-invitational-defeat-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/425031\/","title":{"rendered":"Shane Lowry sore after Dubai Invitational defeat \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

After his latest near miss, Shane Lowry<\/a> at least didn\u2019t face into any long-haul flights before getting back on the horse again, so to speak.<\/p>\n

Lowry remains in the United Arab Emirates for this week\u2019s Hero Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club where he will look to bounce back from a disastrous finish in the final round of the Dubai Invitational, where a costly double-bogey on the 18th hole saw him slip from the top of the leaderboard to finish tied-third, two shots behind winner Nacho Elvira.<\/p>\n

\u201cEighteenth season on tour and golf never gets easier. Sore one to take yesterday but another opportunity this week,\u201d posted Lowry on his social media platforms in licking his wounds and moving on to another bid for a seventh career win on the DP World Tour and first since his BMW PGA Championship back in 2022.<\/p>\n

At least Lowry didn\u2019t have any bag packing or flights to catch after that late blip in Sunday\u2019s tournament, given that the Creek and the Emirates are only 34 kilometres from each other. And there is a considerable difference in the scale of the prize money of offer between the two events: Elvira pocketed \u20ac400,526 for his win, while the winner this week will take home in the region of \u20ac1.4 million.<\/p>\n

Lowry \u2013 whose best finish in the Dubai Desert Classic was tied-11th in 2020 \u2013 is one of four Irish players in the field this week, along with four-time winner and course specialist Rory McIlroy<\/a>, Tom McKibbin<\/a> and P\u00e1draig Harrington<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McIlroy, who finished tied-third alongside Lowry at the Creek but with not the same level of drama, claimed in the aftermath of the event there that he was hitting driver off the tee there \u201cmore for practice than anything else\u201d, with one eye looking ahead to the challenge of the Emirates course where \u201cit\u2019s obviously important to get the ball in the fairway and give yourself chances from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the other elements of his game, McIlroy observed: \u201c[The] short game and putting felt good, which is a really good sign. Just tidy up the ball-striking a little bit, and I\u2019ll hopefully be right there next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clubs To Hire announces Girona as latest addition to bases<\/p>\n

Dublin-based golf clubs rental company Clubs To Hire, now in its 16th year, has announced Girona in northern Spain as the latest addition to its bases, bringing to 25 the number of airport destinations where travelling golfers can rent clubs.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the company recently hit the milestone of its 700,000th rental set, with chief executive Tony Judge remarking: \u201cReaching 700,000 rentals is a proud moment for everyone at Clubs To Hire and a clear sign of the trust golfers place in our service.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"RobertRobert MacIntyre of Scotland and caddie Michael Burrow prepare to play his shot from the first tee in Hawaii. Photograph: Cliff Hawkins\/Getty Word of Mouth<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a good thing to say, but I snapped my putter on 17 on Friday afternoon. Missed a three-footer on 18 Friday afternoon, so doing that cost me a shot … [that\u2019s a] big, big reminder for me that attitude has got to be right for 72 holes not just 36 because, at the end of the day, my attitude cost me this golf tournament, and I can\u2019t be allowing that.\u201d \u2013 Bob MacIntyre on snapping his putter on the 35th hole of the Sony Open, where the Scot ultimately finished tied-fourth, four shots behind winner Chris Gotterup.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers: 1<\/p>\n

S\u00e9amus Power is the lone Irishman in the field for this week\u2019s American Express Championship at La Quinta on the PGA Tour. Power finished tied-31st on his season\u2019s debut in the Sony Open and, although without a full tour card for this season, has earned his place in the field in California through his category of finishing between 111-125 on last season\u2019s rankings.<\/p>\n

On this day: January 20, 1985<\/p>\n

Calvin Peete \u2013 a self-taught golfer who used Ben Hogan\u2019s \u201cFive Lessons\u201d as his go-to coaching manual \u2013 was the most successful African-American golfer on the PGA Tour before Tiger Woods\u2019s feats proved a game-changer.<\/p>\n

Peete\u2019s ninth career win on the US circuit came in the Phoenix Open at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona, where a final round 68 for a total of 14-under-par 270 gave him a two-strokes winning margin over Morris Hatalsky and Doug Tewell.<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old had won the Vardon Trophy on the PGA Tour the previous year for lowest stroke average and continued his form into the new season, although his route to victory was far from straightforward after an eye infection during the third round saw him lose the 36-holes lead and head into the final round two shots adrift.<\/p>\n

In the final round, Tewell suffered a triple-bogey seven on the 14th where Peete regained the lead and then fought to save pars on the 15th (after hitting into water), 16th (when driving into the gallery) and missed the green with his approach on 17 only to get up and down.<\/p>\n

The win was worth $81,000 to Peete which gave him a fast start to accomplish his two stated goals, to get into the top-10 on the money list and to make the USA\u2019s Ryder Cup team. He would finish third on the money list and did make that Ryder Cup team, which lost to Europe at the Belfry.<\/p>\n

Social Swing<\/p>\n

I owe a huge amount of gratitude to @theyassmethod for helping me to recover from my back, ankle and knee issues that I had last year. It was tough to get through most rounds, and I\u2019m proud of the work we\u2019ve done to get me competition ready in such a short time frame. Since I started working with him in November, I can see the transformation of my mobility into the results you\u2019ve watched this week. Here\u2019s to continued health and competing at the highest levels \u2013 Vijay Singh, at the ripe old age of 62, after making the cut and finished tied-40th in the PGA Tour\u2019s season opening Sony Open. Singh, who has 34 career wins, is using the all-time money list category to play on the main tour, while also juggling time with the Champions Tour.<\/p>\n

A bogey free final round. Only made 5 birdies all week. I made 6 in 10 holes in practice on Wednesday. What a game this is. My new training drill might be a bit tight @DPWorldTour #DubaiInvitational \u2013 P\u00e1draig Harrington on the difference playing with scorecard in hand. The Dubliner finished tied-46th in the Dubai Invitational and remains in the UAE for this week\u2019s Dubai Desert Classic.<\/p>\n

Know the Rules<\/p>\n

Q: In a singles match, a player concedes their opponent\u2019s next stroke, picks up the opponent\u2019s ball and rolls it to them along the putting surface. The player did so out of courtesy, for the purpose of returning the ball to their opponent. What is the ruling?<\/p>\n

A: As the player\u2019s action was not for the purpose of testing the putting green, there is no penalty for testing under Rule 13.1e (see Clarification 13.1e\/1).<\/p>\n

In the Bag: Nacho Elvira, Dubai Invitational (DP World Tour)<\/p>\n

Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond Max (7.5\u00b0) <\/p>\n

3-Wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (14\u00b0) <\/p>\n

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW 25 (19\u00b0) <\/p>\n

Utility Iron: Callaway X Forged UT CF18 (24\u00b0) <\/p>\n

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (5) and Callaway Apex MB (6-9) <\/p>\n

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks (44\u00b0), Titleist Vokey SM10 (50\u00b0, 54\u00b0) and Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks Proto (58\u00b0)<\/p>\n

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini 1\/2 Ball Prototype<\/p>\n

Ball: Titleist Pro V1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After his latest near miss, Shane Lowry at least didn\u2019t face into any long-haul flights before getting back…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,118461,755,1747,1656,85],"class_list":["post-425031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dp-world-tour","tag-golf","tag-pga-tour","tag-shane-lowry","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}