Shane Lowry made a move on Saturday in the Masters with a four-under-par 68 that left him two shots off the lead of Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young, but it was most notable for a spectacular hole-in-one on the par 3 sixth hole.
In doing so, Lowry became the first player in Masters history to claim two holes-in-one. His first came on the 16th in the final round of 2016 but his latest, at the sixth, contrived to propel him into a prime challenging position.
“Wild,” said Lowry of the reception that greeted his ace. “I just couldn’t believe it. You’re in the hunt at the Masters and you’re making a hole-in-one, it’s pretty cool. The walk down the sixth hole with everyone around 16 and the 6th was very special.”
With a curriculum vitae of holes-in-one that includes two at Augusta National and also the 17th at TPC Sawgrass and the seventh at Pebble Beach, Lowry has made a habit of acing iconic holes.
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“It gives you obviously a huge kind of boost. You go from six-under to eight-under, and then all of a sudden you’re only four back. It’s getting real now. I felt like I did a great job of calming myself down afterwards. Myself and [coach] Neil [Manchip] have talked during the week about the only shot that matters is the next one. I hit a great tee shot on seven, and I was very happy and proud of that one, because it’s easy to get a bit flustered in areas like that. Your adrenaline is pumping.”
Lowry made three more birdies and two bogeys to reach fourth position on nine under. He will go out on Sunday in the penultimate group with American Sam Burns at 7.14pm Irish time.
“When we get to tomorrow, that’s when, you know, we’ll see what everyone is made of,” said Lowry.
