Latest news with #ShaneLowry
Irish Independent
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rory McIlroy eager for birdie mode at Travelers after finding a ‘feeling' off the tee at Oakmont
While he has been battling for motivation since winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, he has also struggled to hit fairways until last week. Getting emotionally and physically ready for The Open at Royal Portrush is his next big goal, and after driving the ball well at Oakmont, he's looking forward to making birdies at TPC River Highlands. 'Definitely last week, I found a feeling, especially off the tee, that was repeatable, that was working well, and I led strokes gained off the tee last week, which was a big thing for me,' McIlroy said. Making birdies in Connecticut should help his mood. 'I think the weeks after Major championships in these events, sometimes when you are in contention and you are trying to win them, it can feel quite difficult to go play the next week,' added McIlroy, who shot a joint-best of the day 67 on Sunday to tie for 19th 'After a week like I had at Oakmont, where you are not quite in the mix but you might feel you find something in your game, you are excited to come back and play again. 'This is the perfect sort of chaser for what Oakmont was last week, and nice to get out on a golf course where you feel you can make quite a few birdies.' McIlroy is joined in the field by Shane Lowry, who missed the cut at Oakmont but plays his fourth event in a row in the knowledge that he tied for ninth behind Scottie Scheffler last year. 'There are a lot of guys in the field this week where this is their fourth tournament in a row, so they have been put through the wringer the last few weeks,' McIlroy said. 'This is a welcome setup where they feel like they can relax a little bit and not have to grind so much for your score.' McIlroy will play the first two rounds alongside US Ryder Keegan Bradley, who believes new US Open champion JJ Spaun will be a big asset to his team. ADVERTISEMENT 'I think going to a course like Bethpage Black, the people are really going to be behind a guy like JJ Spaun,' Bradley said. It's a major week for Leona Maguire, who will be trying to end a miserable run of form in the KPMG Women's PGA at 6,600-yard Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. The Cavan star arrives in Texas on the back of four successive missed cuts and faces tough conditions in 30c temperatures for her opening round alongside American Joanna Coe and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit. There is no event on the DP World Tour this week, but Max Kennedy, Mark Power and Dermot McElroy are playing in the HotelPlanner Tour's Blot Play9 at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André in France. Meanwhile, County Louth's Gavin Tiernan was the only Irish player to get through the first round of the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's. He beat Scotland's Niall Shiels Donegan on the 18th to set up a last-32 clash with Belgium's Jarno Tollenaire. Galgorm's Joshua Hill lost 3&2 to Canada's Isaiah Ibit, while County Louth's Stuart Grehan fell 4&2 to Mexico's Rodrigo Vasquez. Leading qualifier Conor Graham of Scotland had to dig deep to see off Denmark's Mads Viernose Larsen on the 21st. Travelers Championship, 8pm
Fox News
2 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Xander Schauffele defends 'fair' US Open conditions at Oakmont: 'Everyone had to play the same course'
Plenty of golfers had their fair share of displeasure at this past weekend's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Shane Lowry outwardly proclaimed, "f--- this place" after missing a putt, and on Sunday, despite J.J. Spaun's late charge to take home his first major, only three people finished under par in the final round. One of those three players was Xander Schauffele, whose +6 overall was tied for 12th in the tournament. The conditions were brutal from the jump, but the two-time major champ thought the course was "very fair." "Everyone had to play the same course," Schauffele told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. Schauffele admitted there were "weird breaks" that occurred throughout the weekend when golfers toed the line with danger. However, "You don't have to hit it in the bunkers or the rough – you can just hit it in the fairways." "I thought the course was fair. I thought it was more playable because it rained a little, and the fairways and greens were more forgiving," he added. "You had to golf extremely well, which is what you're supposed to do to win a U.S. Open. You saw J.J. take control out of that rain delay, which is what you're supposed to do to win and be a major champ there." Schauffele will be one of several major champs at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, this weekend for the Travelers Championship, where the last seven winning scores have been -22, -23, -19, -13, -19, -17, and -17, a polar opposite to U.S. Open scores. The 2024 PGA and Open champion won the Travelers in 2022, and while everybody wants to shoot lower, Schauffele said having both types of golf is a good balance. "A mixture of both is nice. It's healthy. I've never shied away from the U.S. Open challenge, and I've never shied away from -25 winning a tournament," Schauffele said. "If you had to play Oakmont in U.S. Open conditions every week for 20 weeks, you'd wear yourself out, and vice versa. If you had to play a course where 25-under is winning for 20 weeks, you'd also wear yourself out. I think having a split and a little variety is nice for us." This year's Travelers has exactly what Schauffele wants as he aims to catch fire ahead of The Open, the FedEx Cup, and the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in what's been a "weird" season for him. "They definitely have done some things to make TPC River Highlands more difficult," Schauffele said. "Used to be lower rough, fairways used to be wider, they changed a couple holes to make it more difficult and less scoring-friendly… You're rewarded for really good shots, but there's water on a lot of holes, there's deep rough on some short-sided pins, a guy next to you can be shooting low, but you can be at even par not feeling great. I wouldn't call it a layup – you still have to be playing really good golf." However, it will be a stark difference from what went down in western Pennsylvania. "It'll be weird to be able to make seven or eight birdies in a round versus at Oakmont." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Shane Lowry: Travelers Championship betting odds and preview
Shane Lowry: Travelers Championship betting odds and preview Shane Lowry has +2500 odds in the 2025 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. He will look for another strong showing after his ninth-place finish at this tournament in 2024. In the past year, Lowry has competed in 20 tournaments. His best finish was second, and his average finish was 17th, with two top fives. The tournament will be held June 19-22 in Cromwell, CT, hosted at the par 70, 6,844-yard course. The field will seek the title held by previous winner Scottie Scheffler and a share of the $20,000,000.00 purse. Shane Lowry odds to win the Travelers Championship PGA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Tuesday at 1:24 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Odds to win: +2500, bet $100 to win $2500 Lowry's stats and trends Lowry has finished within three shots of the leader in one of his last five tournaments. Over that span, he's finished within five shots of the winner two times and finished with a better-than-average score three times. He has carded an average score of -8 over his last five tournaments. Over his last five appearances, Lowry has finished in the top five once. He's made the cut in three of his last five tournaments. In his last four appearances at this event, he's made it to the weekend three times. Lowry's recent results U.S. Open: 79-78 (+17) - Missed cut 79-78 (+17) - Missed cut RBC Canadian Open: 64-68-68-67 (-13) - Finished 13th 64-68-68-67 (-13) - Finished 13th the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday: 69-72-73-77 (+3) - Finished 23rd 69-72-73-77 (+3) - Finished 23rd PGA Championship: 73-71 (+2) - Missed cut 73-71 (+2) - Missed cut Truist Championship: 64-65-67-70 (-14) - Finished second How to watch the Travelers Championship Date: June 19-22, 2025 June 19-22, 2025 Location: Cromwell, CT Cromwell, CT TV Channel: The Golf Channel The Golf Channel Live stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! ESPN+ is the new home of PGA TOUR LIVE. Sign up now to access 4,300+ hours of live coverage from 35 PGA TOUR tournaments this year.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Shane Lowry odds to win the 2025 Travelers Championship
Shane Lowry odds to win the 2025 Travelers Championship Travelers Championship details and info Date: June 19-22, 2025 June 19-22, 2025 Course: TPC River Highlands TPC River Highlands Location: Cromwell, CT Cromwell, CT Previous Winner: Scottie Scheffler How to watch the Travelers Championship Thursday: The Golf Channel The Golf Channel Friday: The Golf Channel The Golf Channel Saturday: CBS (KBAK-Bakersfield, CA), The Golf Channel CBS (KBAK-Bakersfield, CA), The Golf Channel Sunday: CBS (KBAK-Bakersfield, CA), The Golf Channel Watch golf on Fubo! Lowry odds to win the Travelers Championship PGA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Tuesday at 2:56 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Lowry odds to finish in the top 5 at the Travelers Championship Lowry odds to finish in the top 10 at the Travelers Championship Other betting markets for Lowry at the Travelers Championship Lowry recent performances Lowry has participated in 14 tournaments this season, and he has secured two top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes. Lowry has made the cut and finished in the top 20 on the leaderboard once in his past four appearances. Over Lowry's last four trips to this tournament, he's finished among the top 10 once and the top 20 two times. His average finish at the event is 29th.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Storybook ending for JJ Spaun as US Open at Oakmont makes its mark
The ifs, buts and maybes accompanied many players on departing Oakmont Country Club, where the 125th US Open – won by JJ Spaun, the only player to post a sub-par total for the championship – lived up to its reputation as the toughest and most challenging of all the Majors, even if it left a question mark of bordering on being unfair. Spaun's impressive win, in which he showed great fortitude in recovering from a nightmare start to navigate a route to finishing in dreamland was, indeed fantastical. As he put it himself, 'it's definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, kind of underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting.' As is the way with professional golf, one week merges into another, and Spaun's celebratory time will be limited in moving on to The Travelers at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut – one of the PGA Tour's $20 million purse signature events – for an altogether different kind of challenge. Where Oakmont was a battle from start to finish, River Highlands will likely be a birdie fest. When Scottie Scheffler won there last year, his winning total was 22-under-par. The two Irish players who left Oakmont also headed on to Connecticut, even if Shane Lowry – who suffered a missed cut in a disappointing performance – had the weekend off to contemplate how the weeks will be ahead of returning to Royal Portrush for the 153rd Open next month. READ MORE 'I've been doing well this year and felt great coming in. That's what this game does to you. It's been a strange sort of year. I have been having some great results but very rarely feeling satisfied with myself. It's back to the drawing board,' said Lowry who, you suspect, is looking forward to the few weeks at home in Ireland with his family to recharge and recalibrate. As he reminded us: 'I haven't been home since Christmas.' For a homebird like Lowry, that's too long. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot from a bunker on the sixth hole at Oakmont. Photograph: Cliff Hawkins/Getty For Rory McIlroy , whose final round 67 lifted him to a tied-19th finish, there was also a sense after his round that, some two months on from his Masters win where he completed the career Grand Slam, he had finally found clarity in moving on and setting new challenges. His remarks about having climbed his Everest were, in their own way, a sign that he was ready to get climbing again in setting new golfing ambitions. That may or may not come as soon as The Travelers this week, but more likely when he returns to Northern Ireland for the Open at Portrush where there remains some unfinished business after the disappointment of a missed cut in 2019. 'I didn't realise how emotional I was going to be at Portrush. I think that was a thing I was unprepared for more than anything else [in 2019]. I remember I hit a shot into 12 or 13 on Friday night, obviously trying to make the cut. I remember the roar I got when the ball hit the green, and I felt like I was about to burst into tears. Just that support and that love from your own people. So I was unprepared for that. I need to just get myself in the right frame of mind to feel those feelings again,' acknowledged McIlroy. McIlroy's post-Travelers and pre-Open days and weeks will involve finally seeing the finished article at the family's new house near Wentworth in Virginia Water in England, a visit to Wimbledon and competing in the Scottish Open. The US Open's results also saw some significant movement in the Europe Ryder Cup table. McIlroy, of course, remains firmly at the top of the standings but Tyrrell Hatton's tied-fourth place finish saw the Englishman move up three places to second with Lowry dropping one place to third. Scotland's Bob MacIntyre's runner-up finish to Spaun saw him jump from 11th to fourth. Spaun, for his part, moved from 13th to third in the United States team rankings and would appear set to make his Ryder Cup debut at Bethpage. 'I just felt like you keep putting yourself in these positions, like eventually you're going to tick one off. I don't put myself in this position often, or at all, for a Major, that's for sure. This is only my second US Open. But all the close calls that I've had on the PGA Tour this year has just been really good experience to just never, never give up,' recalled Spaun – who'd three top-5s, including a runner-up finish to McIlroy at The Players – of persevering to finally lay claim to the biggest win of his career, which moved him to seventh in the world rankings.
