Lowry alters schedule to take detour to BMW PGA
SHANE LOWRY has cut short his planned five-week break to make a late dash to Wentworth to support this week’s $7 million BMW PGA Championship.
The Open champion (33) missed the cut in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm Castle two weeks ago and planned to rest until the Houston Open and the Masters in November.
But he has now opted to join Pádraig Harrington and a host of Ryder Cup stars in the megabucks Rolex Series event at Wentworth, even if it means restricting his movements for another 14 days on his return.
His presence on the old Burma Road, where he has seven top-20 finishes in his last nine appearances, is a major boost for the European Tour and its blue-chip sponsors.
The Rolex Series has struggled to attract the very best fields since it began with eight events in 2017.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s the third of just four Rolex events this year after the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Italian Open were rescheduled with reduced prize funds and downgraded, and the Turkish Airlines Open and the Nedbank Golf Challenge were cancelled.
Newly crowned Scottish Open winner Aaron Rai will be one of the big attractions, while world No 9 Patrick Reed (30), fourth last year, is hoping to extend his advantage at the top of the Race to Dubai.
Chance
“There’s a lot of golf still to be played, including the Masters, but I’ve given myself a great chance of winning the Race to Dubai,” said Reed, who joins defending champion Danny Willett and European Ryder Cup stars Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer. “A victory in the BMW PGA Championship would certainly help me in that goal.”
Spain’s Sergio Garcia (40) won’t be at Wentworth but the 2017 Masters champion is already looking forward to getting back to Augusta after clinching his first PGA Tour win since he claimed the green jacket in 2017.
“It’s obviously a boost of confidence, there’s no doubt,” Garcia said after a spectacular final-hole birdie gave him a one-shot win in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi, catapulting him from 51st to 38th in the world.
“Every time you play well, even if I would have not won it, it still would have been a massive high for me this week. To be able to do a lot of the things that I did, it meant a lot. It showed me a lot of what I still have and what I still can do.”
Meanwhile, due to uncertainty over coronavirus restrictions, the GUI yesterday cancelled this week’s Irish Seniors Amateur Open at New Forest and the GUI Gold Medals Grand Final at The K Club.