BY PHIL CASEY
Shane Lowry is determined to build on his strong start to the season after making the long journey to Singapore for his final event before the Masters.
A closing 66 gave Lowry a share of 19th in the Players Championship on Sunday and came on the back of third place in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fourth in the Cognizant Classic.
Lowry could therefore have been forgiven for taking some time off before the year’s first major at Augusta National, but the former Open champion will instead contest the Porsche Singapore Classic at Laguna National, his first DP World Tour event of 2024.
“I played well the last few weeks, I’ve got a few nice results under my belt so I’m pretty happy with how things have been going this season so far,” Lowry said.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence and feel great about my game coming off the last few weeks so it’ll be nice to continue that on.
“And then I’ve got a two-week break leading into Augusta so you never want to go into a major off the back of a bad result so there’s a little bit of pressure on me to try and play well this week.
“But I’ve always got high expectations of myself and I’m hoping to come here and give myself a good chance come Sunday afternoon and hopefully do the business.”
Lowry is the second-highest ranked player in the field behind Matthieu Pavon, who makes his return to the DP World Tour after a brilliant start to the PGA Tour season saw him win the Farmers Insurance Open and finish third at Pebble Beach.
“That was a very nice stretch,” Pavon said. “I can’t really… I’m still dreaming a little bit about it. It was just overall an awesome experience and a life changer.
“I mean now I’m guaranteed to play on the PGA Tour until 2026. So it’s all I dreamed about when I was kid.
“I’m feeling great. I’m so happy to come back and play on the DP World Tour. All my friends are here this week. It’s all about sharing a good time with them.”