Lowry and Power seeking hot weekends on PGA Tour; Meadow eight back in Ohio
Brendon Todd of the United States plays his shot from the 13th tee during the second round of the World Golf Championship-FedEx St Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind on July 31, 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Shane Lowry showed flashes of his major winning form but insisted he must do better as he led the Irish challenge at halfway in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis.
As Rory McIlroy bounced back from his disastrous opening 73 with an impressive 66 and Brooks Koepka struggled with his putting and shot 71 to fall four shots behind pace-setter Brendon Todd, Lowry believes he must improve his iron play as the PGA Championship looms next week.
“I drove it well off the tee and I struggled with my iron play,” Lowry said after mixing three birdies with two bogeys in tricky crosswinds at TPC Southwind. “I didn't hit many great iron shots, put myself in a couple of bad positions, but made a couple of good par saves coming down the last few holes.
“So I'm not too pleased, but I'm in a decent position, I suppose, going into the weekend. If I can go out and shoot a decent number tomorrow and give myself a chance on Sunday, I'll be pretty happy.
“I've not really been taking advantage of how well I've been driving it.”
The Clara man was tied 12th, eight strokes behind leader Todd (35), who followed his opening 64 with a 65 to lead by two shots from Rickie Fowler on 11-under.
Overnight leader Koepka could not repeat the fireworks of his opening 62, however, and after moving to 10-under through 10 holes, he three-putted from three feet for a double-bogey six at his 11th hole and lost all confidence on the greens inside five feet, limping to a one-over 71.
“I just putted bad,” said Koepka, who shared third place with Ben An and Chez Reavie, four shots behind Todd on seven-under. “Felt stress-free other than just missing some short ones.”
Graeme McDowell was tied for 21st on two-under after a level-par 70 with McIlroy just a shot further back, 10 shots off the lead on one-under after making five birdies and a bogey in a 66.
At the opposite field Barracuda Championship in California, Seamus Power put an opening double-bogey six (-3 points) behind him but fell from third to tied 12t in the modified stableford event. Scores
Four birdies (4 x 3) and a bogey (-1) saw him add four points to the 11 he made in the first round, leaving him tied for 16th with 15 points, seven adrift of Kyle Stanley at Old Greenwood Golf Course at Tahoe Mountain Club.
Stanley added 14 points to the eight he made on day one to lead by two points from Matthias Schwab, Robert Streb and Branden Grace.
Power has a lot at stake in California as he bids to improve his status for next season.
The winner of the event will qualify for next week’s PGA Championship while the top two players, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top 10 and ties will earn spots in the US Open field at Winged Foot.
Playing in the 126-150 category this year, Power would need a big week to qualify for the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in a fortnight — the final regular-season event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Ranked 182nd in the FedEx Cup list, a top-2 finish could catapult l him into the top 125 while a top 10 would get him into the Wyndham in Greensboro.
Sam Horsfield. Picture: Getty Images
On the European Tour, Ardglass’ Cormac Sharvin was the only Irishman to make the cut in the Hero Open at the Forest of Arden, carding a five-under 67 to get to seven-under-par. Scores
The Co Down man (27) made three early birdies, bogeyed the eighth and 11th but then eagled the 12th for the second day running, slotting home a slick 20 footer.
“I played pretty flawlessly tee to green both days but I was better on greens today,” said Sharvin, who picked up further birdies at the 15th and 17th. “I missed a few and made a few, so I balanced the books.”
He’s tied for 11th, six shots behind Spain’s Sebastian Rodriguez Garcia and England’s Sam Horsfield, on seven-under par.
Rodriguez followed his course record 62 with a 69 as Horsfield shot 63 to join him on 13-under par, three strokes clear of Belgium’s Thomas Detry.
Veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez fell five shots off the pace after a 72 and headed for the putting green.
“I’m going to eat something, smoke a cigar, hit some shots have a good session of putting,” said the 56-year old, who is making a record 707th European Tour appearance. “I struggled today on the greens.”
Gavin Moynihan shot 71 and Paul Dunne a 70 but they missed the two-under-par cut by two strokes as Jonathan Caldwell shot 76 to finish three shots further back.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Meadow opened with a two-over 74 on her return to action in the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness in Ohio. Scores
She was tied for 48th, eight shots adrift of leader Danielle King, who shot a six-under 66.
