Can Shane Lowry hit the heights again in the final three Majors of 2022?

Dave Tindall
13 April 2022

After a strong performance in The Masters, the Irishman will now have his eyes set on a big challenge at the PGA, US Open and Open Championship.

Winning one Major title is tough but trying to back it up with another is even harder.

Plenty of world-class golfers have never been able to reach the pinnacle of the game again and add a second but Ireland's Shane Lowry looks determined to make sure that his incredible Open Championship win at Royal Portrush isn't his only Major triumph.

Since that amazing high in Northern Ireland two summers ago, Lowry has finished tied fourth in the 2021 PGA Championship while last week he challenged for the Green Jacket and took tied third at The Masters.

Also a winner of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Lowry has the game and temperament to capture big events and he's one worth keeping an eye out any time the elite gather.

But what about another Major win in 2022?

Lowry has three more chances so let's look at his hopes of glory...

PGA Championship - Southern Hills

Record at the PGA Championship

Played: 10

Cuts made: 7

Best finishes: T4 (Kiawah Island 2021), T8 (Bethpage Black 2019)

Lowry rather struggled in this event to begin with, missing three of his first six cuts and not managing anything better than tied 46th.

But he did well at Bellerive in 2018 when tied 12th and banked his first top 10 in the PGA with a tied eighth at Bethpage Black in 2019, finishing just three shots off tied third.

Kiawah Island last year represented a good chance for Lowry to show off his coastal golf skills and he did so, closing with a 69 to end in a tie for fourth, four behind winner Phil Mickelson.

This year the tournament takes place at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

There were four Major winners - winner Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and Geoff Ogilvy - in the top six the last time the Tulsa course hosted a Major (the 2007 PGA Championship) so it's a good venue for classy types.

In addition, Oklahoma is famous for its wind so that could also play into Lowry's hands.

US Open - The Country Club at Brookline

Record at the US Open

Played: 9

Cuts made: 6

Best finishes: T2 (Oakmont Country Club 2016), T9 (Chambers Bay 2015)

Lowry has already had one brush with victory in the US Open after finishing runner-up at Oakmont Country Club in 2016.

That doesn't tell half the story though. A weather delay meant round three was completed on Sunday and Lowry added two birdies to hand in a 65 and take a four-shot lead with 18 holes to play.

However, he gradually let shots slip away and a closing 76 left him three back from winner Dustin Johnson.

A year earlier he'd been fifth with a round to play at Chambers Bay. A Sunday 71 gave him ninth spot, five behind champion Jordan Spieth.

The 2022 event takes place at The Country Club at Brookline in Massachusetts and Lowry will again hope to challenge.

As with Southern Hills, he hasn't contested an event there previously but clearly he has the short game and all-round prowess to thrive in a US Open.

Open Championship - St Andrews

Record at the Open Championship

Played: 9

Cuts made: 5

Best finishes: Win (Royal Portrush 2019), T9 (Royal Portrush 2014)

For someone who grew up on the links, Lowry used to have a somewhat curious record in The Open.

He started well enough with tied 37th at St Andrews in 2010 and tied 32nd at Lytham in 2013 before posting tied ninth at Hoylake when finishing with a 65.

But then came four missed cuts: St Andrews (2015), Royal Troon (2016), Royal Birkdale (2017) and Carnoustie (2018).

He put that bizarre streak behind him in emphatic style with his triumph at Royal Portrush and made a stout defence when tied 12th at Royal St George's (71-65-69-69) last summer.

This year's event returns to St Andrews and, despite only modest form (T37, MC) in his two previous Opens there, Lowry has plenty of good memories of the Old Course.

That's due to his strong record in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where two of the four rounds are played at St Andrews.

Down the years in that event, Lowry has a third (2013), a fourth (2021) and a sixth (2014). In the last eight editions, he's been outside the top 25 just once at the Alfred Dunhill Links.

Conclusion

All eyes will be on Lowry at St Andrews this year as he bids to win a second Claret Jug.

And plenty of punters will have him on their shortlists at the current odds of 28/1.

The last time he played the course, Lowry fired 67, 68 on the weekend to finish tied fourth in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and it's no surprise to hear that he loves the place.

But don't rule him out in the other two Majors.

Windy conditions could play into his hands at Southern Hills while he's shown he has the game for US Open tracks too.

Lowry is starting to become a real force in the Majors.

In 2019 he won the Open at Royal Portrush and was tied eighth in the PGA while last year he was tied fourth at the PGA, tied 12th in the Open and tied 21st at Augusta.

Now he's kicked off the 2022 Majors season with a top three in The Masters.

At 35 years old, it seems that the Offaly man is in his golfing prime and a player who could win more Major titles.