Shane Lowry heads into the weekend of the Phoenix Open firmly in contention after an inconsistent second round of 70 in Arizona.
Lowry currently sits at seven under par, three shots off the lead of James Hahn, while Rickie Fowler sits a shot back from Hahn in second place.
Beginning day two at six under par and with a share of the lead, Lowry made a whirlwind start, picking up shots on the first and third before giving one back on the fourth.
The Offaly man reached the turn at two under par before dropping a shot on the 10th. A birdie on 14 seemed to set Lowry up nicely but he endured a scrappy finish, battling his way to pars on the 15th and 16th before a double bogey on the 17th threatened to ruin his round.
However Lowry finished with a flourish and a birdie three on his final hole sets him up for a weekend onslaught, he said: “Yeah I’m pretty happy birdying the last, I think it would have been annoying sitting down to have my dinner this evening having only shot level par today.
“ I was a little bit sloppy coming in today but I’ve got to put that behind me now and kick on for the weekend.”
The double bogey on 17 could have proved a crushing blow to his tournament ambitions, he said: “I’d hit a bad tee shot on 15 and I just picked my target and hit a lazy swing.
“To be honest I was up quite early this morning, I couldn’t really sleep in. It was just a bit of a lazy, tired swing, that’s all I can really put it down to. I played lovely for the rest of the day today. 15 and 16 were the same, just a couple of lazy swings, thankfully there was a decent one on the last.”
Meanwhile bidding for his second PGA Tour victory, Hahn birdied three of his first six holes and three of the last eight to end a sunny day in the Arizona desert one ahead of American world number four Fowlerand New Zealand's Danny Lee.
Enjoyment was the watchword for Hahn, who claimed his first PGA Tour title in a three-way playoff for last year’s Northern Trust Open, as he totalled only 25 putts in breezy conditions to take over at the top.
He said: “Fun, I’m having fun out there. I’m making a lot of putts, hitting a lot of fairways, giving myself many opportunities to make birdie.
“And I’m sleeping in my own bed this week. I live about 10 minutes away from here. I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”
Fowler, who missed the cut at last week's Farmers Insurance Open after winning the previous week at the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship, was delighted to maintain his new-found form on the greens.
Three-times former winner Phil Mickelson, a popular figure at Scottsdale after attending the nearby Arizona State University, was a distant eight strokes off the pace after carding a 71.
