Big three Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will grab all the limelight, but Shane Lowry and Séamus Power believe they can spoil the party and capture the $4.5 million (€4.26m) winner’s cheque in The Players Championship this week.
As the game’s top three go off together in their ongoing battle for supremacy at the top of the world rankings, Lowry and Power quietly fancy their chances.
Both made the cut but struggled in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill last week, but having shown flashes of their best golf heading into the $25 million (€23.7m) extravaganza, they have high hopes.
After finishing eighth in 2021, Lowry had a hole-in-one on the iconic 17th en route to a tie for 13th last year, and while he’s playing his fifth event in a row and his eighth in nine weeks, he feels a shot maker’s course like TPC Sawgrass is right up his street.
“I think you get a course like this that suits me and my game,” said Lowry, who was fifth in the Honda Classic just 11 days ago. “You have to shape the ball around here and don’t just stand up and hit the driver on every hole. It’s about playing golf.
“I certainly feel like I come here and it’s a major. Everybody’s here on Monday working. Everybody’s getting ready. It’s really got a major feel about it, so it’s one of the tournaments you want to compete in and do well in.
“The fact I’ve had a couple of decent results around here is nice and I can hopefully bring that to this week. Yes, I didn’t have my best week last week at Bay Hill, but that is a place I really struggle around, and actually making the cut last week was a result for me.
“LA was a place I’ve never liked in the past and I played quite well out there. I had a chance at Honda, so I feel like my game is trending in the right direction. Go out and give it my best this week and hopefully I can be there in the afternoon.”
Power’s 72nd-place finish at Bay Hill on Sunday was the first time he has finished outside the top 25 in nine starts since capturing his second PGA Tour win in Bermuda last October.
He had an ace at the fourth en route to finishing tied 35th on his debut in 2019, and after finishing 33rd last year, he’s looking to contend this week.
“I just love this golf course,” said Power, who, like Lowry, fully supports the proposed changes to the 2024 schedule. “Florida golf has never been my strength but with the over-seed here and I feel like I can really play and compete.
“My game’s in a good spot, so I feel like there’s no reason I can’t be in contention on Sunday.”
As Gary Hurley, John Murphy and Tom McKibbin tee it up in the Magical Kenya Open today, Olivia Mehaffey will be battling to make the cut in the Investec South African Women’s Open at Steenberg, where a 79 left her tied 128th, 17 strokes behind Germany’s Chiara Noja.
Kenya Open,
Live, Sky Sports Mix, 9am
The Players Championship,
Live, Sky Sports Golf, 11.30am