Shane Lowry can secure a $1 million-plus bonus at this week’s Wyndham Championship but he admits he’s got one eye on the Tour Championship and that $25m FedExCup bonus.
The Offaly man – reunited with caddie Dermot Byrne for one week only as Darren Reynolds takes a break – holds down 10th place in the Comcast Business Tour Top 10 standings, which pays out a $20m bonus among the top-10 finishers in the FedExCup regular season standings on Sunday night.
Only the top 70 in the standings progress to the first playoff event in Memphis next week, which means it’s a crucial week for 69th-ranked Séamus Power.
But 10th-ranked Lowry wants to protect his position and potentially move further up the standings as he eyes his first appearance in the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta, which is reserved for the top 30 after the first two playoff events: the FedEx St Jude and BMW championships.
“I had a pretty good showing at The Open, which pushed me up the rankings a little bit and I ended up in 10th spot, which is obviously a nice place to be,” Lowry said of his decision to head from the Olympics in Paris to Sedgefield Country Club North Carolina this week. “I’ve come into this tournament many years needing to do something, but I didn’t get into the FedExCup, so it’s nice to be up this end and playing for something like that.
“I sat down with my team a couple of weeks ago, and we were trying to figure out a schedule and what I was going to do and how I was going to give myself the best chance to do as well in the FedExCup as I could.
“Obviously there’s the Comcast this week, but there’s also a lot to play for over the next four weeks. I want to play hard over the next four weeks, and give it everything I have.
“I feel like I’m getting on in years and this is a very good opportunity for me to do well in the FedExCup and hopefully give it a run into Atlanta.”
Lowry (37) wants to close the gap on Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy at the top of the FedEx Cup standings before he gets to East Lake for his Tour Championship debut
“I do have my goals written down and it’s at the top of the list,” he said. “I’ve never made Atlanta. I’ve been very close a couple of times. I’m pretty much guaranteed there now, so it’s nice to be playing these next four weeks with a bit of freedom.
“I feel if I can be in the top six to 10 category going into East Lake and starting a few shots behind Scottie’s not great. Even starting on par with him isn’t great this year. You know, I feel like I can make a bit of a run at East Lake if I’m there.”
Power must ensure he’s in Memphis next week. But with only the top 50 in the standings exempt for all the signature events next season – key events under Europe’s new Ryder Cup qualifying criteria – he needs to be in the BMW Championship to achieve that goal.
Meanwhile, in the 114th Irish PGA Championship at Palmerstown House, Michael Allan and Sean O’Donoghue opened with three-under 69s to lead by a shot from Brian Kerley, Brendan McGovern, Colm Moriarty, Liam Power and Eric Byrne.
