Shane Lowry’s quest for back-to-back top-10 finishes on the US Tour were undone with a poor final round in the AT&T Pebble Beach pro-am, as the Offalyman - ranked 40th in the world - suffered inopportune bogeys on his homeward run as American Brandt Snedeker ended an 18-months winless drought on tour.
Snedeker, whose last win on tour came in the 2013 Canadian Open before deciding to change his swing under coach Butch Harmon, claimed a second Pebble Beach pro-am title as 54-hole leader Jim Furyk again suffered from final day woes on the greens.
Early birdie
Seeking to make the most of sponsor’s invites in his attempts to claim a full PGA Tour card off the non-member exemption route, Lowry – who had a tied-seventh finish in last week’s Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines – went into the final round in tied-10th and picked up an early birdie on the par five second hole as he set about his business.
Lowry picked up a second birdie on the sixth hole to get some momentum, only to suffer a bogey on the ninth where he found the left rough and then bogeyed the 11th after finding a greenside bunker.
However, Lowry – who is concentrating on playing in the United States for the first part of the season as he sets his sights on a maiden appearance in the US Masters at Augusta in April – hit back with a birdie on the 12th, where he rolled in a 20-footer, and another on the Par 5 14th to get within touching distance again of a top-10 finish.
But Lowry’s round unravelled late-on, with back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th. On the 15th, he was again in a greenside bunker and failed to get up and down and, then, on the 16th he missed the green and finished in thick rough. Lowry played the par fives well, though, and birdied the finishing hole for a 71 which left him on 274, 13 under par to finish in tied-21st.
Lowry, who is a non-member, must rely on sponsors’ exemptions into tournaments in the United States on top of those events he is in by right (the WGCs and the Majors)if he is earn sufficient prizemoney to be given a PGA Tour card. The mark he must pass is $713,377 which is the amount won by Nicholas Thompson last year in claiming the 125th – and last – card on the US circuit. His next scheduled appearance on the tour is in next month’s WGC-Cadillac championship at Doral which is a no-cut strokeplay championship.
Whilst Snedeker played superbly in beautiful conditions in the final round, overnight leader Furyk struggled – especially with the putter in hand – and fell down the leaderboard. Before going out, Furyk remarked: “I want to win golf tournaments. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning, that’s what keeps me competing.”
Unfortunately for Furyk, it proved to be another final round meltdown and, instead, Snedeker – who has shown greater consistency under Harmon’s remodelled swing – played the best golf of all.
Furyk’s woes included attempting to play a shot from the rock face of a cliff, which only emphasised his final day problems.
