Shane Lowry made history earlier this year by tying a major scoring record with a 9-under-par 62 during the third round of the PGA Championship.
After recording a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April, Lowry has put himself in position to make more history when he makes his Tour Championship debut on Thursday. The winner of the tournament at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta earns a $25 million bonus and a five-year PGA Tour exemption.
Lowry can count the 2019 Open Championship and other premier European events among his seven career wins, but only twice has he won on U.S. soil.
With that in mind, the 37-year-old Irishman let his guard down and shared his feelings on Wednesday.
“Yeah, it’s nice to be here,” Lowry said. “It’s almost embarrassing that I haven’t been here. I’ve been a pro a long time and whatever. But yeah, I haven’t been here.
“But it is nice to be here this week, and I feel like my game is OK. Golf course is going to play quite difficult. Happy to be here at East Lake. It’s always a goal at the start of the year, and thankfully this year I got to fulfill it.”
Lowry joins Sungjae Im of South Korea, Adam Scott of Australia, Sahith Theegala and Tony Finau by starting at 3 under in the 30-golfer field this week. That group is seven strokes behind two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who begins with the lead after recording the most FedEx Cup points from the regular season.
The course at East Lake Golf Club underwent a restoration in the 12 months since the most recent Tour Championship, led by architect Andrew Green. Many golfers have described East Lake as a brand-new golf course.
“Yeah, I think I’m on a level playing field with the guys that have played here — like Rory (McIlroy) has played here something like 12 or 14 times. He’s obviously won here three times.
“When you’re coming back and it’s the same venue, they do have one up on you if it’s the same golf course, but it’s a completely different golf course. So I feel like I’m on a level playing field with those guys.”
–Field Level Media