Shane Lowry moves into 29th place in the Race to Dubai after his maiden Portugal tour win
Having booked his berth in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai with victory in last week’s Portugal Masters, Shane Lowry has now set his sights on securing a place in the top ten of The Race to Dubai. Lowry won his first European Tour title as a professional with a dazzling display on the final day at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course on the Algarve, where a closing round of 66 secured a one shot win and with it a cheque for €375,000 which moved the Irishman from 65th in The Race to Dubai to 29th place.
Lowry, who shot to fame by winning the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009 in front of ecstatic home crowds, finished in a tie for eighth place on his maiden visit to the Earth Course last year, a result which helped the 25 year old finish the 2011 season in a career high 41st place in The Race to Dubai.
The 60-man showpiece returns to Jumeirah Golf Estates from 22-25 November and Lowry is hoping to round off a superb season by claiming a share of the Bonus Pool awarded to the top ten players in The Race to Dubai.
He said: “At the start of the week my aim was to book my place for Dubai, because I wasn’t sure how many more tournaments I was going to play on The European Tour this season. I thought a top five finish would probably be enough to guarantee my place in the top 60, and I managed to do a little better than that!
“To move into the top 30 of The Race to Dubai is amazing, and it gives me a lot of confidence to take into the week. I managed to finish in the top ten last year, so the course definitely suits me and I’ll be setting my sights even higher this year.
“The DP World Tour Championship is a great end to the season, and I’m already looking forward to it. If I have a good week I could even push on into the top ten of The Race to Dubai, which would be a great end to the season.”
Lowry’s fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy still leads The Race to Dubai on €2,813,962, with Justin Rose in second place, some €437,334 behind the World Number One. South African Branden Grace is in third place thanks chiefly to his four European Tour victories this season, whilst 60th place is currently occupied by Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, who is just €177 ahead of Sweden’s Joel Sjöholm in 61st.
