Lowry Seeks Masters Boost and US Win at Houston Open

Shane Lowry arrives at the Texas Children's Houston Open seeking a much-needed boost for the Masters and hoping to end his ten-year wait for an individual victory on American soil.

The Offaly native heads to Memorial Park in search of positive momentum after a series of recent setbacks, including costly late mistakes at the Cognizant Classic and subsequent missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.

Lowry took last week off to regroup and is making his first appearance at this Houston course since missing the cut there in November 2022.

The tournament's return to a pre-Masters schedule two years ago could prove to be an ideal setup for the Clara man, as the course design notably rewards driving accuracy and precise iron play.

This will be Lowry's final event before the Masters. He is expected to head to Augusta National next week for practice. Last year, he was in contention, sitting sixth heading into the final round of the Masters, but ultimately faded to a 42nd-place finish, well behind Rory McIlroy.

With world number one Scottie Scheffler withdrawing to be with his wife for the birth of their second child, Lowry is the sixth-highest ranked player in the field, behind Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Harris English, Ryan Gerard, and defending champion Min Woo Lee.

Lowry is scheduled to tee off in the morning wave today alongside Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler. Meanwhile, Seamus Power, who is playing his third consecutive week after getting in from the alternates list, will start in the afternoon.

This marks Power's fifth consecutive week on the road. While the West Waterford man believes his game is close, having made six of his first seven cuts this season, he acknowledges the critical need to improve his driving.

"My short game has been much, much better," Power commented last week at the Valspar Championship, where he finished 30th after a slow weekend. "My long game is okay; it's good in spots. But then there are a couple of loose ones every day that are just costing me and holding me back a little bit. It's close, though. That's the frustrating part of golf, when it's very, very close and you're just waiting for it to happen."

Elsewhere, Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh will also be looking to make a positive impact at the LPGA's Ford Championship in Phoenix.

Maguire, who was ranked 10th in the world less than three years ago, has now fallen to 112th following her missed cut at last week's Fortinet Founders Cup in California.

Rookie Walsh is also aiming for a stronger performance after playing all four rounds but finishing last in her LPGA cardholder debut at the Blue Bay LPGA in China, and subsequently missing the cut last week alongside Maguire.

On the DP World Tour, world number 22 Akshay Bhatia headlines the field at the Hero Indian Open, held at the DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi.

"I'm very excited," said the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational winner, who serves as a global ambassador for the title sponsor and whose parents hail from India. "I have always wanted to do this, and I'm just happy to finally make it work."