– The tee times at the Cognizant Classic were moved forward this Saturday to avoid a powerful storm threatening the PGA National from two in the afternoon, and the PGA Tour nailed the timing, as the leading group finished without major incidents on the 18th hole, even though it was already surrounded by threatening black clouds. In a way, it’s true, the storm was embodied by Shane Lowry (-13) and his scorecard of 63 strokes that took him directly to Sunday’s leading group.
– The Irishman likes this course, where he hasn’t finished lower than eleventh in his last five appearances and where he was second in 2022, fifth in 2023, and fourth in 2024. As you can see, too many near misses in the last five years, so it might be here, in this corner of Florida, where Lowry finally overcomes a truly absurd barrier. And it’s because he has never been able to win a ‘normal’ PGA Tour event. When we say ‘normal’ and put it in quotes, we mean that, indeed, Shane has three victories in the American circuit, but one was a World Golf Championship (Bridgestone 2015), another was a Major (the Open in 2019), and the third was the Zurich Classic of 2024 in pairs with Rory McIlroy. It’s not about belittling a resume that includes a WGC and a Major, just acknowledging the absurd abnormality that this great player hasn’t managed to claim victory in a regular tournament, when he has been playing on the PGA Tour since 2015 and has surpassed two hundred tournaments played…
– Lowry is brilliant and unclassifiable. He has already earned a place in the pantheon of golf history and has given his best in major events. But he is not a killer, or what is understood as such, when talking about a guy with three Ryder Cups under his belt, as he has only won six tournaments as a professional, combining the two major circuits, PGA Tour and DP World Tour, in almost 17 years of career (he has a seventh win, the first one, an Irish Open, but he achieved it as an amateur: brilliant and unclassifiable). We agree that tomorrow he is the favourite, but if with anyone it’s wise not to count your chickens before they hatch, with Lowry, in a regular PGA Tour event, even less so.
– The Irishman is the favourite considering the rest of the contenders, among whom the Cinderella of the week, Austin Smotherman (-13), still stands out, who also handled this third round with composure (a round of 69 strokes) and will tee off in the leading group.
– Today he finished in style, with a great shot on the 17th (birdie) and missing an excellent eagle opportunity on the 18th, so the heart palpitations and cold sweats are left for tomorrow. Sunday, the fourth and final round, will be the toughest for a guy trying to turn his career around. He has never played a Major, not even a Signature Event, but last year he earned credit in an outstanding season on the Korn Ferry Tour and, as he says, he feels ready. Today, just after signing the scorecard, he showed part of his ideology, his way of seeing his profession after ten years as a professional without a major success: “Yes, I think it’s simply about recognising that we all have our own path in our careers, whatever it may be, and comparison steals our joy. So I’m going to follow my career, the things I’ve done, the happy moments we’ve had, which are many. Even small day-to-day things. Yes, I appreciate playing on the PGA TOUR every day. It’s great.”
– The matches will again be two-player tomorrow, so only the two co-leaders, Lowry and Smotherman, will be in the leading group. But many more will be vying for the win, not just them. There’s Nico Echavarría (-12), who got back into the fight today with a great round of 66 strokes. And Taylor Moore (-12), ready to revive not-so-old laurels in Florida after his victory in the Valspar of 2023, which seemed to project him towards very high, very serious heights that he couldn’t conquer later… For now, let’s still give him his time. Smotherman has already said it: let everyone follow their path and not spend too much time comparing themselves to others, because comparisons steal joy. Wise words.
