Shane Lowry has shot a 62 on Saturday and matched the lowest scoring record for the PGA Championship. The 37-year-old Irishman has become the first European player to shoot a 62 in a major. However, he was still ‘disappointed’ as he missed out on the chance to beat the record.
Branden Grace was the first golfer to shoot a 62 at a major. He made the record at the 2017 Open. Later, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler equalled the record at the 2023 US Open. Interestingly, Schauffele repeated the feat again earlier this week in the first round of the PGA Championship. Lowry blew the chance to make the first-ever 61 and was unhappy about it.
The 2019 Open champion, eyeing his second major win this weekend, came close to the record in the final hole. However, he ended up four inches away from a 12-foot putt. The golfer noted that he knew ‘what was at stake.’
Speaking about missing the record on Sunday, Shane Lowry said in his post-round press conference at Valhalla (at 0:20):
“Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62. I knew what was at stake… Just didn’t hit the ball hard enough. Had it on a good read and (it) just broke away from the hole…
I knew I just really wanted to hole it. Probably too much… It would have been a pretty cool moment to kind of seal the deal and do it. But at the end of the day, I knew even if I didn’t do it that I did what I needed to do today, and I’m pretty happy with that.”
Lowry came into the PGA Championship on the back of a win at the Zurich Classic last month. Notably, the world No.43 golfer noted it was fun to play with confidence.
Shane Lowry on changing putter ahead of the PGA Championship
Shane Lowry had switched to a TaylorMade mallet putter before his win at New Orleans. The equipment change helped the Irishman as he made a career-high 161 feet of putts on Saturday. The Irishman currently leads the field in Strokes Gained after the first three rounds at Valhalla.
The European Ryder Cup star credited his putter for the strong round.
Shane Lowry said in the same presser:
“I feel like tee-to-green, I’ve been as good as I’ve ever been this year, and then I come out the first two days, it was probably the worst I’ve played in a long time, but my putter kept me going and kept me in the tournament… I’ve sort of felt all season that if I could warm my putter up that I could be dangerous.”
It is pertinent to note that no Englishman has won the PGA Championship since 1991. Moreover, no golfer who shot 62 has gone on to win a major in the past. Lowry currently has two potential records to break heading into the final round.
It’ll be interesting to see how the three-time PGA Tour winner finishes on Sunday.
