On a week when the Arizona desert found itself ensconced beneath two inches of fresh snow and cacti wore a frosted coating there has already been a shock on the golf course to distract from the confusion of the elements.
Shane Lowry, the tournament’s lowest ranked player, has defeated Rory McIlroy, the world number one, in the first round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain in Arizona.
Lowry won the match 1 up following some excellent play on the back nine. He chipped in at eleven and twelve before a stunning three wood shot on the thirteenth, from over two hundred and fifty yards, landed one yard from the pin to ensure an eagle.
McIlroy was two up after the first four holes, but Lowry pegged him back on the sixth and seventh. The pair exchanged points until Lowry made a break for the lead as they came past the turn. McIlroy pulled one back on the sixteenth to leave just one point between the former amateur playing partners, but Lowry’s short game shepherded him across the line, with two pars from the final two holes matching the best the world number one could offer.
In the build-up to the tournament the questions for McIlroy were, as they have been since he signed an equipment deal with Nike, about his new clubs. McIlroy signed the most lucrative endorsement deal in golf – and potentially all of sport - when he agreed to swing the clubs of the American sports clothing giant.
It hasn’t been an easy transition thus far, with a missed cut in Abu Dhabi last month followed by yesterday’s defeat meaning he has only played competitively three times since November; and two of those were abridged affairs.
McIlroy now has just three events left on his schedule before The Masters in April. It is a narrow timeframe in which to execute a sharp turnaround in form, made all the more intense by a growing burden of external doubt over his ability to replicate his finest play with his new clubs. In Abu Dhabi he discarded his Nike putter in favour of his Scotty Cameron putter but maintains that he feels he can play as well as ever with the new clubs.
McIlroy said on Tuesday: "I knew (being criticised) would happen if I didn't play well, and I probably put a little bit too much pressure on myself to play well because of that."
The twenty three year old has also had to defend his decision from repeated criticism from six time major winner Nick Faldo, amongst others. Faldo called the move “dangerous”, a comment which, publicly at least, seemed to give McIlroy little cause for concern.
McIlroy has so far maintained the same calm, patient demeanour when questioned about the issue that characterised his handling of a dip in form last year. On that occasion poor performances on the course led to a media echo chamber blaming his relationship with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki for a loss of focus. He came back from that particular blip to win a second major and firmly establish himself as golf’s number one man by the end of the year.
The world number one’s worries will, of course, matter little to Shane Lowry as he looks ahead to the remainder of this tournament. The man who won the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur, and effectively gambled on his own ability in his hunt for a USPGA Tour card towards the end of last year, will now move on with another credit towards his ever improving reputation at the top level of golf.
In a field where many of the leading names – including Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Ernie Else, Paul Lawrie and Adam Scott – have already been knocked out, there is an opportunity for the Offaly man to make some significant progress up the golfing ladder this week.
