Shane Lowry believes he has already been repaid for the dangerous luck which derailed his bid for victory in final yr’s Honda Classic.
Lowry was caught in a sudden downpour on the 72nd gap and was unable to birdie the par 5 as Austria’s Sepp Straka had performed within the group forward to take the lead.
The former Open champion felt being caught up within the driving rain was “as bad a break as I’ve got in a while”, however went on to have a profitable season which included victory within the BMW PGA Championship and a tie for third within the Masters.
“Last year’s runner-up finish was obviously very disappointing,” Lowry instructed a pre-tournament press convention forward of this week’s Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens.
“I had a two-shot lead with five to play. I didn’t feel like I did much wrong the last five holes out here, which is tough to do because it’s obviously a very tough stretch of golf and I got beat by Sepp in the end.
“It was disappointing at the time, but I remember it kind of kickstarted a nice consistent run of golf for me and I played well going into the Masters then and stuff like that. It gave me a lot of confidence for the year ahead.”
Asked concerning the 18th gap in final yr’s ultimate spherical, Lowry added: “It was one of those where I stand on the tee and torrential rain starts and I already see Sepp sort of 330 yards down the middle of the fairway.
“Yes, if it didn’t rain, the probability was I might have made birdie and got into a play-off, but it wasn’t a God-given right to win.
“Yes it was a bad break, but they’re the breaks you get in golf. I was hoping it was going to repay me back at some stage during the year. I had a decent year last year, so yeah, whatever.”
Lowry labelled his BMW PGA Championship victory as “one for the good guys” because the event featured 18 gamers from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, one thing Lowry admitted he “can’t stand” forward of the occasion.
It was additionally the primary qualifying occasion for this yr’s Ryder Cup and though Lowry is eager to make the European aspect for Rome after making his debut within the document 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits, he took a diplomatic strategy when requested if LIV gamers ought to be eligible for the group.
“I can’t sit here and say whether I think they should or shouldn’t because the way it is now, I could be on the team with one or two of them or multiple of them in September,” Lowry added.
“I don’t know whether they should or they shouldn’t. That’s just kind of the way I am now. But even if I had an opinion, I can’t really say because if I’m a part of the team and then there’s bad blood there, it doesn’t bode well for the team.
“I’m all about Team Europe and the Ryder Cup, and I’ll do everything in my power to be a part of something that will be special in September.
“Whether there is lads involved in it or not, if we’re standing there with the Ryder Cup trophy on Sunday, I’ll be a happy, happy man.”