Lowry runs out of steam in Singapore as Harrington and Maguire chase California glory
Jesper Svensson. Credit Getty Images
Shane Lowry ran out of steam in scorching Singapore and suffered a back nine collapse to finish nine shots behind playing partner and playoff winner Jesper Svensson in the Porsche Singapore Classic.
Five shots behind overnight, the 2019 Open champion birdied the second, third, seventh and ninth to turn in four-under 31 and get to 12-under, just two shots behind leaders Andy Sullivan, Shubhankar Sharma and David Micheluzzi.
He went on to roll in a 15-footer at the 11th to get within a shot of the lead, but with the temperature and humidity soaring and jet lag a factor, he was one of many players to struggle with hydration in the punishing conditions and dropped five shots in his last eight holes.
His 72 left him tied 29th on eight-under in his last appearance before the Masters, but with enough good golf under his belt - an eagle and 21 birdies - to head for Augusta National with positive vibes.
Still, he may be regretting opting for this 17,000 km trip around the world instead of the short 322km hop from Jacksonville to Tampa for the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour.
Dressed all in black (his traditional Sunday colour), his poor run started when he short-sided himself in the sand with a short iron at the 12th.
He dropped a further shot at the par-five 13th, where he was hunkered down in the shade of his bag, drinking water, before pulling his fairway wood approach into the bushes.
A loose long iron at the 14th led to another six and his third bogey in a row, which effectively ended his hopes.
While he stopped the rot with a birdie at the 16th, he found water and double-bogeyed the island green, par-three 17th and made another bogey six after another visit to water at the 18th at Laguna National to come home in four-over 41.
It was all a massive contrast to Svensson, who made two eagles and seven birdies in a course record-equalling nine-under 63 to set the target at 17-under before being joined at the top by Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnarat.
The Thai star birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th and holed an outrageous par putt at the 17th before making an eagle at the last to shoot 64 and force a playoff.
Both men birdied the 18th the first time around. But after making pars there on the second extra hole, the Swedish rookie took the title with a two-putt par five on their third trip down the last.
“It's been a lot of good golf, so it was nice to finally come out on top," said Svensson (28), who was second in both the Bahrain Classic and the Investec South African Open earlier this season. "It's very hard to win, so it's really nice.
"It's been a long journey. To win on my first season out here, I couldn't have dreamt of it. It's always been a dream to be a winner on the DP World Tour and to achieve it feels amazing.”
Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington and Leona Maguire can make it a double Irish celebration in California tonight.
Harrington takes a one-stroke lead over Thongchai Jaidee into the final round of the Hoag Classic on the PGA Tour Champions.
At the same time, Maguire is just four shots behind leaders Jiyai Shin and Alison Lee at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship at Palos Verdes.
Harrington picked up four shots in his last four holes at Newport Beach Country Club, where he carded a four-under 67 to lead by a shot from Jaidee on 12-under-par.
The Dubliner (52) eagled the 15th, then birdied the short 17th and par-five 18th to shoot 67 as Jaidee matched his career best with a nine-under 62.
Seeking his seventh win on PGA TOUR Champions and first since the 2023 TimberTech Championship, Harrington said: “The first 14 holes was the opposite of yesterday. I seemed to play nicely and not score very well, but then those last four holes make up for it.
“And I was pushing hard over the last four holes. We don't know what we're going to get tomorrow (in terms of weather). It was important to be tying the lead by the end of the day if not leading.”
He hopes to make it a back-nine shootout with Jaidee for the title.
“I'm going to have to go forward,” Harrington said. “You know, a one-shot lead over Thongchai is not enough. He seems to be playing very nicely.
“Yeah, in my head, I'm trying to think of five, six-under-par would take the rest of the field out and would put a lot of work on Thongchai to keep up with that.
“If I'm in the lead, I'm always trying to take the field out of play. So for myself and Thongchai tomorrow, I'd love the two of us to play the front nine four under par, both of us, because then it's between me and him for the last nine holes and the field has got too much to do. That's my attitude.
“Hopefully, both of us play well, and we get going. The last thing I want to do tomorrow is shoot level par and give the eight, nine unders, and even seven unders a chance of competing.
“Hopefully, both of us play well and we sort it out over those last four holes.”
It was a tougher day for Maguire at a windy Palos Verdes, where she hit only seven greens in regulation and made three birdies and four bogeys in a one-over 72 to slip to tied 12th on five-under.
She’s still just four shots behind Korea’s Jiyai Shin, who shot a bogey-free 63, and American Alison Lee, who carded a 68.
They lead by two strokes on nine-under from Australia’s Gabriela Ruffles, Nelly Korda,
defending champion Ruoning Yin of China and Malia Nam on nine-under.
