He may outwardly promote Srixon via his cap, bag and headcovers, but there was no hiding the fact that Shane Lowry bashed it out there with a new Callaway Epic Flash driver en route to a course-record equalling 62 to lead the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The Irishman, who hasn’t teed it up in Abu Dhabi since 2014, had a streak of 8 birdies in 10 holes before signing for a 10-under-par 62 and to lead by three strokes ahead of four players on 7-under.
“You just have to play the course aggressively and hit driver a lot and get the shortest shot as you can going into these greens. That’s how the day kind of went, and obviously it worked today.” – Shane Lowry
Louis Oosthuizen, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Richard Sterne and past winner Pablo Larrazabal all posted 65s while big-hitting Americans Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson signed for a 67 and 69 respectively.
Defending Champion Tommy Fleetwood also carded a 69 while experienced English duo Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter both shot 66. Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who is a three-time winner of the event, carded a 66 but one past winner who is not in Abu Dhabi this week is Ryder Cup star Paul Casey, who is opting instead to play in the $1m Singapore Open on the Asian Tour.
