Lowry pleased with opening effort but falls out of Top 50
Shane Lowry reacts to a missed birdie putt on the first hole during the third round of the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. on Saturday, June 18, 2016. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
Shane Lowry was pleased with his first event for nine weeks but he's now slipped outside the top 50 in the world for the first time in 20 months.
Lowry closed with a four under par 68 to share 33rd behind winner Jon Rahm, who jumped from 137th to 46th in the world.
The Clara man fell three places to 53rd, however, to exit the world's Top 50 for the first time since May 2015.
However, he was happy to knock the winter rust off his game having taken nine weeks off since he finished tied 19th in the DP World Championship, Dubai and then went on to claim of share of ninth with Graeme McDowell in the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf in Melbourne on November 27.
Lowry now heads to Phoenix for this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open where he will join Pádraig Harrington, who missed the cut in his first start of the year in San Diego, hoping to go a few spots better than last year's tie for sixth.
Seamus Power, who also missed the cut, does not get to start in Phoenix but appears likely to start in Pebble Beach next week.
Tiger Woods also missed the cut in La Jolla but returns to action in this week's Omega Dubai Desert Classic alongside the likes of Open champion Henrik Stenson and Masters champion Danny Willett.
Irish interest will centre on Graeme McDowell, who said he exceeded his expectations with his share of 28th in Qatar last week, and Greystones' Paul Dunne.
Dunne is 33rd in the Race to Dubai thanks to top 30 finishes in three of his last four starts and having moved up to 253rd in the world, he will be keen to break into the top 150 as soon as possible.
Former Open champion Darren Clarke is also in the field at the Emirates Golf Club.
How the Irish stand in the Official World Golf Rankings
World ranking (last week)
- 2 (2) Rory McIlroy
- 53 (50) Shane Lowry
- 95 (91) Graeme McDowell
- 128 (123) Pádraig Harrington
- 253 (267) Paul Dunne
- 320 (317) Seamus Power
- 625 (617) Michael Hoey
- 724 (722) Chris Selfridge
- 733 (733) Darren Clarke
- 770 (768) Jonathan Caldwell
- 790 (777) Ruaidhri McGee
- 825 (825) Rory McNamara
- 872 (868) Niall Turner
- 1121 (1107) Kevin Phelan
- 1210 (1206) Gavin Moynihan
- 1240 (1230) Gary Hurley
- 1382 (1369) Gareth Shaw
- 1441 (1427) Brian Casey
- 1448 (1441) David Carey
- 1504 (1494) Niall Kearney
- 1599 (1597) Stephen Grant
- 1797 (1796) Alan Dunbar