Shane Lowry's tied-ninth finish in the US Open enabled him to tick some more boxes.
First off, it gave him conditional status on the PGA Tour for the rest of the season and a better chance of achieving a full tour card in the United States next year; and his most successful Major stateside also moved him back into the world's top-50 at 45.
For Lowry it also served to affirm that he is capable of more. “I’m going away feeling like I’ve played the golf to win, I gave myself a great chance,” he said.
Both tours
“I want to get my PGA Tour card. I want to play both tours so I really need to cement my place in the top-50 and I’d like to win pretty soon again, which would be the number-one goal on my list now.”
Lowry – who played in black through all four days of the US Open in memory of the six Irish students who died so tragically in Berkeley last week – won €210,476 ($235,316) for his tied-ninth finish, his second top-10 in the past four Majors.
However, the 82 FedEx Cup points he earned were critical in moving him to 339, which moved him beyond the magical number of 323 and earned him special temporary membership status on the PGA Tour, which means he can now play an unrestricted number of tournaments this season.
Up to now, Lowry had been limited to playing stateside on exemptions or sponsors’ invitations but that restriction has been lifted and his target will be to finish greater than or equal to the top 125 in FedEx Cup points or the top 25 on the PGA Tour money list through the Wyndham Championship.
A marker of a kind is that 125th on the FedEx Cup points list last season was 438 points and the money list was $712,345.
On track
Lowry with 339 points and $502,517 so far this season is well on track, with the British Open, the Bridgestone and the US PGAto come, as well as the chance to play more stateside tournaments now that he has conditional status.
“For me, I just want to be going to every tournament I play feeling like I’m going to win,” he said. “Coming to Chambers Bay, to a tournament of this calibre on a course like this, and giving myself a chance to win gives me that little bit of extra confidence to kick on and hopefully get a win pretty soon.”
Lowry’s next stop is BMW International in Germany this week. He is also up to 23rd in the latest Race to Dubai rankings.
Confidence
“This week can’t but give me confidence. I really, really feel like I played the golf to win the tournament. A few putts here and there, a bit of luck, you never know what could have happened.
“So it’s a case of keeping the head down and keep doing what I’m doing. I feel like I’ve got a lot of good people around me and I’m doing the right things and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year now,” said Lowry.
The Offaly man is playing in Germany this week, then having a week off, before playing in the Scottish Open and, of course, the British Open at St Andrews.
He added: “I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, keep listening to the people I have around me and I feel like I’m going in the right direction.
“It’s only my third top-10 this year but I really feel like my game has turned a corner.”
