In terms of bad weather breaks, Shane Lowry’s misfortune in the 2022 Cognizant Classic ranks up there as an all-timer. The Irishman needed a birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Sepp Straka, and the par-5 finisher at PGA National is often ripe to score a red number.
But after a day of sunny skies, a storm cell moved in just as Lowry went to the 18th tee box, and within in minutes, rain was coming down in sheets and Lowry couldn’t manage it. His drive found the rough; he had to lay up, and his pulled approach led to only a par and one-shot loss.
It is a memory that has to be even more painful considering Lowry hasn’t won a stroke-play tournament on American soil since 2015. (He combined with Rory McIlroy to capture the 2024 Zurich Classic after winning the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.)
Fortunately for Lowry, PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., which is not far from his adopted American home in Jupiter, continues to be one of his favorite tracks, and he’s got yet another chance to slay those demons from ’22.
Playing earlier than original scheduled on Saturday because of concerns about an impending storm, Lowry’s ball-striking was superb, and he poured in five birdies in the first nine holes en route to an eight-under-par 63—his best effort in 35 round in the tournament formerly sponsored by Honda.
At 13 under, Lowry heads into the final round tied with Austin Smotherman, who, like the Irishman, birdied the last two holes to also get to 200. In a bunched pack, there are nine other players five shots or closer to the lead.
Lowry—the highest-profile player in the field—has four top-11 finishes in his most recent starts at PGA National, including three straight in which he’s finished in the top five. But he insists the tournament owes him nothing.
“Yeah, it’s one of those that I felt a little bit unfortunate that day,” Lowry said on Saturday about the result in ’22. “But, you know, that’s how golf is. It doesn’t give you anything; you’ve got to go and get it yourself. I’ll be doing my best to get it tomorrow.”
Ranked 31st in the world, Lowry already has one heartbreaking close call this year—with another disaster on the final hole. In his first start of the season, he needed a birdie at 18 to get into a playoff in the DP World Tour’s Dubai Invitational. But after finding the greenside bunker, Lowry’s recovery shot skirted past the flag and into the water, punishing him with a double bogey and ultimate third-place finish.
“What can you do?” a crushed Lowry said in the aftermath.” You have to learn from it and move on, lads. This game is … I don’t know. It’s the start of my 18th season on tour and I’ll never figure it out.”
Lowry, whose best finish on the tour this year is a T-8 at Pebble Beach, could hardly have set himself up better for a win on Sunday at PGA National, striking the ball so well that he has gained more than 5½ shots on the field in approach.
“I think it played pretty easy today,” Lowry, 38, said. “This golf course never plays too easy, but if you take 15, 16, 17 were playing downwind today, so you know it’s an 8-iron on 15 straight downwind; it’s 3-iron, 9-iron on 16; and it’s a pitching wedge on 17. You know, if the wind turns around and all of a sudden you’re hitting 6-iron, 6-iron and 6-iron on those three holes, it becomes automatically two or three shots harder.
“There wasn’t much wind out there, so there’s certain things that aligned today to make it play easy enough, wind direction being one of them.
“But you still need to go out there and hit the shots. The greens are firm. It can get away from you if you’re not hitting the ball well. I felt like I did everything pretty good today.”
Smotherman, a native Californian who played at SMU and lives in Dallas, is one strong round away from his first tour victory. He opened the tournament with a 62 and has shot back-to-back 69s. This, after he missed three of his first four cuts this season to go along with a T-8 at The American Express.
Smotherman, 31, said he got chills on Saturday hearing reporters ask him about being tied for the lead with Lowry.
“Most excited for tomorrow,” he said. “Hitting golf shots in front of all these fans and hearing people yelling your name and refocusing and trying to do it again the next shot, I think it’s a fun challenge. Start of the week, this is what you kind of prep and play for. Not that you expect to be there, but when you are there, you know you’re ready, and I feel like I am ready.”
After having two weeks off because he didn’t qualify for the tour’s signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera, Smotherman is competing with home still on his mind. His wife, Jess, is due with their third child on March 23 during the week of the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
“Kind of crunch time,” Smotherman said, adding that he plans on playing next week—be it by qualifying for the signature Arnold Palmer Invitational or the concurrent event in Puerto Rico. Of course, there is also the Players Championship in the week after that.
“I’m hoping the baby doesn’t come Players week and I’ve got to make a really hard choice there,” Smotherman said earlier this week. “But [my] mind is free. I just want to go play golf, and the baby is going to come when babies come, I guess.”
In the meantime, his family is watching at home, and he said his wife sent a video to friends on Saturday of his young daughter pointing at the TV screen and saying, “Da-da.”
“I wonder if they took naps today,” Smotherman wondered with a smile.
With daddy leading the Cognizant, probably not.