In back to back weeks on the PGA Tour, the winner was a first time champion, as Shane Lowry won the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational this weekend.
It was Lowry’s first PGA Tour win, as was Troy Merritt’s last weekend at the Quicken Loans National.
Lowry did not have the greatest start to the tournament on Thursday. He was even after his first 18 holes, and was just trying to find some momentum.
Shooting seven under par over the next two days would set the Irishman up for a career-day on Sunday, where he bent the minds of golfers everywhere.
On hole 10, for example, Lowry was in the rough behind a row of trees off the tee. It seemed as if Lowry would be lucky to get up-and-down for par, but he decided to go for the green instead. The risk worked out quite well, as his chip hit the rough and bounced a couple feet from the hole for a gimme birdie.
It was déjàvu for Lowry at the 18th hole, as he was in a similar position of the tee. The ensuing shot was a bit different, though. With the pin more on the right side of the green, Lowry shot the ball up and through the trees, and saw it slip through to the green. The crowd went wild, and so did Lowry after he finished up his round with a birdie putt:
Lowry finished the tournament at 11 under par.
Bubba Watson finished right behind him at nine under par. His storyline was eerily similar to Lowry’s; both golfers were even after the first round. Not only that, but Watson was five under par on Friday and Saturday, putting him in contention Sunday.
The lefty was on fire most of the day, with long drives and clutch putts everywhere. He did not have enough in the end though, despite a great run on Sunday.
Perhaps the most interesting storyline of the day was Justin Rose and Jim Furyk’s round, as both were over par on Sunday. They were the final group to go off.
Rose shot a 63 on Saturday, so his 72 on Sunday came out of nowhere. Some missed shots cost him a couple strokes that he could not recover from.
Furyk’s 72 featured many missed putts and chips that were inches from changing his round completely.
Jordan Spieth had a rocky tournament, but finished strong on Sunday with a 66, or four under par. He was even throughout the first three days, but finished the tournament T-10.
The PGA Championship starts next Thursday.
