Shane Lowry didn't hold back on self-criticism after a disappointing third round in the Turkish Airlines Open. "My course management was poor, I was too aggressive . . . . stupid, really," observed the Offalyman, of a 72 that left him on eight-under par 208 and four shots adrift of the 54-holes leader, Australian Wade Ormsby.
What added to Lowry's frustration was that he had failed to take advantage of a slip-up by Ian Poulter who, at one stage, looked as if he might run away with the tournament only to falter to a 75 in the third round to open the door for those in pursuit.
“I’m feeling disappointed and flat, my head is all over the place,” said Lowry.
Unfortunately for Lowry, he failed to make his own, telling move. Although he started with two birdies in his opening four holes, Lowry struggled to get any momentum thereafter and had salt rubbed into the wound by bogeying the Par 5 18th for a second time in one day. Earlier in the morning, he had returned to the course to complete his second round, bogeying the last but still signing for a 66 after back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th.
His two early birdies of the third round moved him into second and chief pursuer of Poulter, only to labour for much of the remaining holes. What disappointed him most was his play of the Par 5s coming in: he failed to birdie either the 13th or the 18th, compounding matters by bogeying the finishing hole. Afterwards, Lowry admitted his course management was what let him down after taking aggressive decisions to go for the greens in two in both cases.
On the 13th, he attempted to reach the green with a three-wood and came up short in a fairway bunker; and, on the 18th, he again sought to reach the green in two but again left himself with a long bunker shot. “I am too aggressive, what was wrong with hitting an 8 iron down there (on 18) and having 90 yards (for the approach). Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” he said.
Lowry, needing a top-eight finish if he is to break into the world’s top-50, still has that within his grasp but estimates he needs to produce a closing round in the mid-60s if he is to challenge for the tournament title itself.
Ormsby, ranked 264th in the world, manoeuvred his way into the lead with third round 68 that put him on the cusp of a career-changing victory, although Poulter – who headed to the range immediately after his round to work on a swing that went Awol –and fellow-Ryder Cup player Lee Westwood and Germany's Marcel Siem trail the Aussie by just one stroke.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention, but generally when I get in contention, I know what to do,” said Westwood after a 67 that moved him into the business end of the leaderboard.
