Irish Golf Desk

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Late errors prove costly for Lowry

Brandt Snedeker

Shane Lowry couldn't quite produce his very best golf but he still walked away with a valuable share of 21st in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

A one under par 71 was not quite what the world No 40 had in mind and while it meant he couldn't begin his 2015 campaign in the US with two top-10 finishes.

As overnight leader Jim Furyk shot 74 to continue his final round curse — he has failed to convert his last nine 54-hole leads —  Brandt Snedeker shot a fautless 67 to win his second Pebble Beach Pro-Am by three strokes from Nick Watney with a tournament record 22 under par.

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It was an emotional win for Snedeker, who had not won for 17 months after a bad run with injury. As a result he returns to the world's top 50 and secures his place in the Masters, where he has twice played in the final group.

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Lowry made just two bogeys in his first 54 holes but he made four in a costly eight-hole spell near the end of his final round and fell 10 spots down the leaderboard.

Having birdied the par-five second and sixth holes, he bogeyed the tough ninth when he missed the fairway and the green.

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He then played the tougher back nine in level par 36, which was a disappointment after he recovered from a bogey at the 11th, where he bunkered a 77-yard approach, with birdies at the 12th (20 footer) and par-five 14th (sandy). 

Two under for his round and needing birdies for another Top-10 finish and a possible start in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera this week, he bogeyed both the 15th and 16th having left himself just 130 yards from the fairway on both occasions.

A chip and putt birdie at the last eased some of his pain and he will be a force to be reckoned with when he returns for the WGC Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral in a few weeks.

As for the Pro-Am, Lowry and Dermot Desmond posted a 70 on Sunday and tied for 18th.