Often when a player hits long streak of poor play, changes come an sometimes it the caddie who is first to go.
That’s the case with Shane Lowry and caddie Bo Martin.
Lowry has fallen to 22nd in the world rankings and is in the midst of a run in which he hasn’t had a top 10 finish since his win at the BMW Championship last September. He was the only player who failed to record a point at the recent Hero Cup. Lowry finished outside the top 25 in Abu Dbabi and then missed the cut last week in Dubai — and that was enough to end the working relationship with Martin.
The Irish Independent (newspaper) pulled out the old “unnamed sources” card and said the two had been considering a split for weeks because they lost their “spark” and “chemistry.”
Martin, who has been on the bag since 2018, was seen as instrumental in helping Lowry capture the biggest title of his career, the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Lowry ended a three-and-a-half-year winless drought in 2019 a few months after enlisting Martin as a looper. A few months after that, they teamed up to win Lowry’s lone major championship at Royal Portrush.
The decision has left Lowry scrambling for a new caddie with a busy stretch upcoming, with five consecutive starts between the Phoenix Open and Players Championship, four of which are part of the Tour’s big-money, designated schedule.
Rasmus Hojgaard Back, Holds Share of 36-Hole Lead At Ras Al-Khaimah:
Rasmus Hojgaard is back in action on the DP World Tour after time off to heal an injury. Hojgaard didn’t waste any time running up the leader-board at the third and final stop of the DP World Tour’s Desert Swing.
Hojgaard opened wth 66 on Thursday and followed that up with a 67 on Friday and was tied atop the heap at the Ras Al-Khaimah Championship at the Al Hamra Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates.
Adrian Meronk (68-65) and Davis Law (69-64) made it three at the top at 11-under.
First round leader Ryo Hisatsune finished 36 holes at 10-under with rounds of 64-70.
Rose Zhang Heads Augusta National Women’s Amateur Field:
It didn’t take long for the 45 eligible players to say yes to a spot in the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Rose Zhang, the world’s No. 1 amateur and a Stanford University student, heads the field along with 2022 winner Anna Davis and 2021 champion Tsubasa Kajitani.
The 2023 event will have a 36-hole cut that will include top 30 and ties. The first 36-holes at Champions Retreat will be broadcast live on Golf Channel while NBC Sports continues to broadcast the final round at Augusta National.
