Houston hole-in-one gives Shane Lowry a Major boost

Shane Lowry’s decision to add the Houston Open to his schedule in advance of the Masters proved to be a wise one, ending the rot of back-to-back missed cuts and providing a spring in his step before the season’s first Major.

A hole-in-one in Sunday’s final round – the fourth of his career on the PGA Tour, to go with aces at the Masters (2016), The Players (2022) and Pebble Beach (2025) – provided the standout moment but, even with a tied-28th finish some distance adrift of winner Gary Woodland, getting all four rounds in restored Lowry’s confidence.

“I played pretty good. I’m pretty happy with my week. This golf course doesn’t suit my game at all but I wanted to come and play before Augusta and I think I got a lot of good out of it, so I’m happy,” said Lowry, who planned on making a two-day practice trip to Augusta National before heading home to Florida and then returning next Sunday for Masters week.

Of getting back into the swing of tournament play after that late collapse in the Cognizant, where he had two double-bogeys on 16 and 17 in the final round, and then missing cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players, Lowry admitted: “Obviously I got off to a great start this season and then at Bay Hill, [and the] Players, I wasn’t very good. I think what happened at Cognizant, I might have let that dwell over me for a bit longer than I should have. It was nice to come out here and play four rounds and hit some really good shots.”

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Kids just walk in at Walker Cup

The R&A’s “Kids go Free” initiative will be in play for this year’s Walker Cup at Lahinch Golf Club in Co Clare, where under-16s – accompanied by a paying adult – will be admitted free for the biennial match between Britain and Ireland against the United States.

Lahinch is just the third Irish course to play host to the match that pits the leading amateurs from B&I against the USA (following Portmarnock in 1991 and Royal County Down in 2007) and tickets for the match on September 5th-6th, just one week before the Amgen Irish Open further down the Atlantic coast at Trump Doonbeg, have now gone on sale, with €40 for a single-day ticket or €70 covering both Saturday and Sunday.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, chief championships officer at the R&A, said: “The Walker Cup is one of the most distinctive events in amateur golf, bringing together outstanding players from Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America to compete in a match rich in tradition and history.

“One of the special qualities of the Walker Cup is the closeness to the action, provided by golf’s future stars, that fans can enjoy, walking the course and following every encounter from tee to green.”

Tickets are available on the R&A website www.randa.org

By the Numbers: 3 & 1

There are a trio of Irish players in the field for this week’s Aramco Championship in Las Vegas: Anna Foster, Lauren Walsh and Leona Maguire. The tournament is co-sanctioned on the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.

Séamus Power will aim to rebound from a missed cut in Houston when he plays in this week’s PGA Tour stop, the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Word of Mouth

“We talked about it. We thought it was appropriate to let him have his moment. It was a pretty cool moment for Gary and it was cool to see. I’m really happy for him.” – Nicolai Hojgaard on agreeing with Min Woo Lee to let Gary Woodland have the stage to himself on the 18th green, as the American’s emotional win in the Texas Children’s Houston Open marked a remarkable comeback story following his surgery for a brain lesion.

Lee Trevino of the USA during the British Open at Muirfield Golf Club in Scotland in 1972. Photograph: Allsport UK

On this day: March 31st, 1974

Lee Trevino – aka Super Mex – had one of those weeks where he played perfect golf in claiming the Greater New Orleans Open for the 18th of 29 career wins on the PGA Tour.

Without a win in 13 months since lifting the trophy at the Doral-Eastern, Trevino was in a class of his own in producing rounds of 67-68-67-65 for a record low total at Lakewood Country Club of 21-under-par 267, eight strokes clear of runners-up Ben Crenshaw and Bobby Cole.

Trevino’s masterclass saw him go through the 72 holes without incurring a single bogey, adding $30,000 to his bank account for the impressive win, in which the popular former army marine insisted he had not “hit the ball so solid” for four rounds since his US Open win in 1968.

Social Swing

Dunno wat @tigerwoods is dealin w & it isn’t my business. As some1 who has & will always deal w my own issues like every other human being I pray the man who positively influenced my life and millions of others overcomes wat he is going thru. – Anthony Kim, who has had his own addiction issues, passing on some advice to Tiger.

It was always “a when” not “an if” @GaryWoodland, so proud of everything for you and the family – huge inspiration to us all!! Congratulations – Tommy Fleetwood loving Gary Woodland’s emotional comeback win.

Alex Fitzpatrick, a DP World Tour Champion. That’s pretty cool. Proud of you @FitzAlex99 – Big brother Matt Fitzpatrick salutes Alex Fitzpatrick’s breakthrough win in the Indian Open, just a week after his own success in the Valspar. Alex’s win moved him up 60 places in the official world rankings, from 196th to 136th.

Know the Rules

Q: In a singles match, a player concedes their opponent’s next stroke, picks up the opponent’s ball and rolls it to them along the putting surface. The player did so out of courtesy, for the purpose of returning the ball to their opponent. What is the ruling?

A: As the player’s action was not for the purpose of testing the putting green, there is no penalty for testing under Rule 13.1e.