Shane Lowry can make 2024 his Masters year
By NCG
Shane Lowry is dreaming of becoming the first Irishman to win the Masters and 2024 has the potential to be the year he tries on the green jacket for size.
The 2019 Open winner is aiming to peak at Augusta and he certainly has the tools for success if he can put everything together.
His best finish at the Masters so far was a tie for third behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022. Undoubtedly, Lowry has the scope to improve upon that placing based on his recent visits.
Odds suggest Masters his least likely major chance
He’s currently priced at odds of 45/1 to win the opening major of the year and, for those looking at online bets for Lowry to be a major winner, his Masters price is the biggest of the four.
He’s a 40/1 shot for the US Open and PGA Championship and is priced at 33/1 to win The Open Championship for a second time. If you fancy Lowry to win more than one major in 2024, you can put the prices into an odds calculator to find out how much you would stand to win.
But while the odds indicate the Masters is his least likely shot of winning a second major in 2024, his season is being geared towards being primed to contend at Augusta.
After finishing tied for 21st place in 2021, Lowry followed that up with his best result when third to Scheffler, albeit he never posed a serious threat to the American.
Last year, Lowry started with a solid four-under-par opening round before shooting two-over for the subsequent three rounds to finish in a tie for 16th behind Jon Rahm. Lowry was particularly frustrated with his final round of one-over par when his putting let him down and his aggressive approach on the par-five fifth failed to pay dividends.
Lowry has spoken about how he will try a similar tactic again if he’s in the same position of needing something special to get back into contention, especially as he felt he was very close to being in the mix.
Peaking for Augusta
Lowry commented that he’s been trying to peak at the Masters for the last two years by tailoring his schedule accordingly, it will therefore be interesting to see what tournaments he plays in the lead-up to Augusta.
In 2022, he played in the Honda Classic at the end of February before having a week off and then playing three tournaments in a row prior to not playing the week before the Masters.
In 2023, he played in the Phoenix Open, Genesis Invitational, Honda Classic, Arnold Palmer and The PLAYERS Championship over a five-week stretch before only playing in the WGC Match Play in the month between Sawgrass and Augusta.
With top-four finishes at all three US-staged majors, Lowry has demonstrated that he has the game to contend.
His experience of both letting a four-shot lead slip going into the final round of the 2016 US Open and his stunning six-shot win at Royal Portrush in 2019 will be a valuable asset if he can get himself into a similar position at Augusta in April as he aims to fulfil his ambition.
