Shane Lowry capitalises on Ryder Cup magic with pal to take lead in lucrative Abu Dhabi event
The Offaly man won here in 2019 and will be targeting a piece of the $9 million purse
Shane Lowry smiles on day one of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 2025 at Yas Links Golf Course(Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Shane Lowry brought some of the Ryder Cup feel-good factor to Abu Dhabi as he was in inspired form on day one of the DP World Tour’s HSBC Championship alongside a pair of his European teammates.
The Offaly man won this event in 2019 but hasn’t contended in a serious way since. One day one in Abu Dhabi this year, Lowry played with Ryder Cup teammates and close friends Tommy Fleetwood and Rasmus Hojgaard. Lowry started with two birdies in a row and from there matched two nines of 32 with just one dropped shot.
That left the world number 25 in a tie for the clubhouse lead on eight under par alongside playing partner Fleetwood, South Africa’s Richard Sterne and Kazuma Kobori of New Zealand.
The winner this week will bank over $1.5 million in prize money, while the runner-up will earn $990,000 from the first of the two closing Rolex Series events. A total of $9 million is available at the event.
“I played nice, didn’t feel overly comfortable out there though,” said Lowry when conducting a comical post-round interview alongside Tommy Fleetwood. “I was just hanging on to Tommy’s coattails.
“I was paired with him in India and shot 64 in the first round as well – something about me and Tommy.
“I hit my irons great and gave myself a lot of chances. I holed the putts I should have today. I just like the place, I see my way around here pretty well and hopefully I put four rounds together this week.”
Elsewhere on day one, big hitters Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge were playing together for the first time as the top two in the season-long Race to Dubai standings, and ahead of the event both men were asked about the longest driver on tour question.
Rory McIlroy (Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“I don’t know,” Penge said when asked on Tuesday. “Obviously I want to be past him and I’m sure he wants to be hitting it past me. It will be a bit of a flex on that sort of thing. Bringing their best on the day will probably be the longest. We’ll see.”
McIlroy, 36, quipped: “I don’t know. He should be longer. He’s nine years younger than me.”
Well on day one in the Middle East, we got our answer. The Masters champion stood over a 394-yard tee shot on the par four 10th hole. The Holywood man appeared to give the tee shot some extra power and incredibly found the green in one.
The commentary team on Sky Sports could only laugh at the feat, with former Ryder Cup star David Howell remarking, “There is your answer, there is your answer on who is longest. Of course it’s McIlroy.” His co commentator replied, “He definitely gave that a little bit extra, didn’t he”.
McIlroy is second on the PGA Tour in terms of driving distance with an average of 323 yards. The top spot is held by South African powerhouse Aldrich Potgieter on 325 yards.
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