McIlroy keeps hopes alive but Lowry comeback falls short

Pádraig Harrington in action in the Dominican Republic. Picture: Kevin C Cox

Brian Keogh

March 26 2021 02:30 AM

Rory McIlroy believes new coach Pete Cowen is the man who can give him the “feels” he needs to work hard and get back to winning ways.

After being thrashed 6&5 by Ian Poulter on day one in the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play, the world No 11 cruised to a facile 4& 3 win over Lanto Griffin to keep his hopes of progressing to the last 16 alive.

“It’s a very difficult game at times, and I feel like it’s testing me a little more than it has done in the last few years,” said McIlroy, who must beat Cameron Smith today and hope Poulter, who beat Smith 1 up, loses to Griffin so he can force a playoff.

“I feel the only way to get through it is to put your head down and work on the right things and trust the process of maybe put in the hard work, and my dad always said, you get out of it what you put into it.”

As for his change of coach, he reckons Cowen is the man he needs right now, given they’ve known each other since he was 13.

“I just felt like it was a natural fit in terms of Pete knows my goal,” McIlroy said. “He’s seen me grow up swinging the golf club. I don’t think he has any preconceived ideas in his head of how I should swing or with what I’m struggling with in my swing at the minute.”

He added: “Michael is like a second dad to me … It’s just the fact that I haven’t been able to see him as much recently, and then the times that I have, there hasn’t been much continuity there. It feels like every time we saw each other it was almost like we were trying to do too much.

“I think Pete is out on Tour enough to sort of give me maybe feels that I can play with and then stuff that I can work on on the range, because as everyone knows, it’s so hard to go out on the golf course and think so much about your golf swing.”

Shane Lowry’s hopes, however, are over after Jon Rahm produced a blitz around the turn.

Lowry was two up through three, however, Rahm had clawed the gap back by the seventh and was three up by the time they left the 12th green.

A late fightback to win 16 and 17 and give himself a birdie chance on 18 wasn’t enough for the Clara man as Rahm won 2up, meaning Lowry is eliminated ahead of his final match with Sebastian Muñoz.

Pádraig Harrington, meanwhile, produced a blistering back nine to scorch into contention for the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.

The European Ryder Cup captain put a one-over front nine behind him by racking up four birdies in a homeward 32 for a 69 that left him tied 10th, just three shots behind Germany’s Stephan Jaeger with Graeme McDowell tied 19th after a 70 and Seamus Power tied 55th after a 72.

On the LPGA Tour, Stephanie Meadow was beaming at her fiancé after she fired five birdies in a four-under 68 to lie just a shot off the lead in the Kia Classic.

The Jordanstown star (29) got engaged to Kyle Kallan last year, but they have also teamed up on the course as a player-caddie duo.

“It’s been really nice,” said Meadow, who started birdie-bogey before following a hat-trick of birdies from the sixth with another at the 14th to share second with England’s Mel Reid just a shot behind South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim as Leona Maguire posted a level par 72 to share 34th.

“So far, it’s been a great team, and I’m just enjoying having someone really have my back. Obviously, normal caddies do, too, but he’s got a little more skin in the game, I guess.”

On the European Tour, Jonathan Caldwell carded a one-under 70 that left him tied 27th on 10-under par in the Kenya Savannah Classic, seven shots behind last week’s Kenya Open winner Justin Harding but just four behind the six-strong group tied for second.

Cormac Sharvin was tied for 54th on six-under after a one-under 70 as Harding (35) carded a five-under 66 to lead by three shots on 17-under par in his bid to win back-to-back events for the third time in his career.