Shane Lowry shot a stunning eight-under-par 63 to move into a tie for the lead with Austin Smotherman at the Cognizant Classic on the PGA Tour.
The Irishman is seeking his first individual victory on the PGA or DP World Tours since 2022, having won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Rory McIlroy in 2024.
Lowry’s ball-striking was supreme in The Palm Beaches, gaining 5.6 strokes on the field with his approach shots, with four of his five birdies on the front nine coming from approaches to within 10 feet. The pick of the bunch was a 223-yard long iron to six feet on the par 3 5th.
“It was a good shot, a nice high cut, it came out absolutely perfectly,” Lowry said.
He would go out in 30 shots, and then he birdied the par 5 10th to move into a share of the lead at 11 under.
A run of pars followed before a strong finish with birdies at 17 and 18 for 13-under-par total. He held the clubhouse lead before overnight leader Smotherman birdied the final two holes to catch his 13 under score, one stroke ahead of Nico Echavarria and Taylor Moore.
“I suppose I just got off to a great start,” he said. “I played some good golf, I enjoyed it out there, there wasn’t much wind, it was fairly gettable, I feel like I played well.”
Lowry has history at PGA National, almost winning the tournament, formerly called the Honda Classic in 2022, leading on the final hole before a squall came in and he ended up losing to Sepp Straka by a shot. A runner-up finish in 2022 was followed by a tied fifth in 2023, tied fourth in 2024 and tied 11th last year.
Lowry is then primed for victory if he can continue the work of today’s round, showing form before the Masters in April.
“You’re never due to win but I feel like it’s a golf course I see my way around pretty well, I feel at some stage of my career I will win here, hopefully tomorrow is the day.”
Séamus Power had a disappointing day to fall well out of contention, a two-over-par 73 left him two under for the tournament.