Lowry seeks final round push at Torrey Pines
Shane Lowry three-putted the last for a 73, but the leaderboard is so crowded in the Farmers Insurance Open that he’s just three strokes outside the top 10.
He likely needs to finish in the top five to qualify for next week’s $20 million AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which is the second of eight massive Signature Events.
Lowry started his 2024 campaign in the US to open his FedExCup account and he still has an opportunity in today’s final round to make a big impact after Torrey Pines’ South Course showed its teeth on Friday.
The third-round scoring average of 73.55 was a shot-and-a-half harder than the opening two rounds with just two players shooting 68 or better compared to 16 over the first two rounds.
“Today the golf course showed its best,” said France’s Matthieu Pavon, whose 72 left him tied for second with Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (73), one stroke behind Germany’s Stephan Jaeger.
Jaeger also shot 73 to lead on 11-under par, with Lowry seven strokes behind on four-under after his 73 but still well within striking distance of the top places.
Coming from behind is nothing new at Torrey Pines, so challenging is the South Course.
According to the PGA Tour, the previous two winners, Max Homa and Luke List, each came back from five shots to win, while eight of the last ten winners have come from at least three shots back.
“I've played Torrey Pines enough now that I know you don't go out and shoot 4, 5-under every day you play the South Course,” Jaeger said following his third-round 73.
“I just knew that I was playing good enough, my game was good enough that if I just mentally stayed sharp and stayed, you know, on course of what I wanted to do, I had a good chance of having a chance on Sunday. That's all I really want.”
At the LPGA Tour’s Drive On Championship in Florida, Leona Maguire made four birdies in her last eight holes before Stephanie Meadow birdied the final two holes to join her in making the cut on the level par mark
The Co Cavan star looked doomed when she bogeyed second and 10th at Bradenton Country Club to slip to four-over but birdied the 11th, 14th, 15th and 17th to card a two-under 69 and eventually make the cut with nothing to spare.
She was joined by Meadow, who followed a birdie at the third with four dropped shots mid-round to also slip to two-over before her birdie-birdie finish for a one-over 72 left her tied for 60th with Maguire on level par.
They ended the day ten shots behind Nelly Korda, who shot 67 to lead by two shots from Korea’s So Mi Lee on 10-under.
China’s Xiyu Lin (66), Ayaka Furue of Japan (67) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (70) are three behind on seven-under.
