Lowry rues 'silly mistakes' that leave him three off the lead in India

As Rory McIlroy savoured a Green Jacket sitdown with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, Ryder Cup teammate Lowry reflected on a second-successive 69 which could have been much better

Sat, 18 Oct, 2025 - 14:53

Staff

Shane Lowry lamented some silly mistakes down the stretch as he saw playing partner Keita Nakajima surge to the lead heading into the DP World India Championship's final day.

The Offaly man fired a third-round 69 to sit on 14 under by Saturday evening but is three shots off the Japanese leader with Lowry's Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood nestled between them on -15.

Lowry turned in three under but played the back nine in level par, with a birdie at the last good enough for a second-successive 69 but questioning what might have been.

"I got very frustrated on the back nine today. I started to hit very loose shots, made some silly mistakes," said Lowry.

"I'd played great on the front nine. I was really in control of my game and how things were going, made a great par save on nine and then missed a short putt on 10. It all kinda snowballed, spiralled from there.

"I did my best to get it back on track and it was nice to birdie the last, but I made a few really silly errors, mental errors."

Fleetwood benefited from a lucky break off a tree lining Delhi Golf Club to finish with a birdie and sit two off the lead. The Ryder Cup winner had just carded his first bogey in 37 holes after three-putting the short 17th from 35 feet when he pulled his approach to the par-five last.

His ball looked in danger of being lost in the thick vegetation only for it to clatter a branch deep in the trees and rebound close to the front fringe from where he almost holed a chip for eagle.

A 69 and 15-under total left him in touching distance of Nakajima, who had a brilliant bogey-free seven-under 65, but Fleetwood was frustrated by his form on the greens.

"It was a shame because my pace was pretty rubbish all day but I felt I'd held out so well," said the Southport golfer, who is looking for his first win on the DP World Tour since January 2024, having made his PGA Tour breakthrough in August's Tour Championship.

"I'm not going to be negative about it, I know I've got to do a bit of work on it but I've done so much good so far.

"Two behind is close enough where I'm still in control of it a little bit."

Masters champion Rory McIlroy's best round of the week - 68 to get to 10 under - saw him limit himself to just one bogey but he found himself seven back, further off the lead than when he started.

The world number two accepts chasing down the leaders is unlikely.

"If I shoot a low one tomorrow I could post a score and see what happens but I'd say I'm probably two shots too far behind to have a realistic chance," he said.

The Northern Irishman spent Friday night at an event on stage in his Masters green jacket alongside national cricketing hero Sachin Tendulkar.

"To be out there on stage with a living legend in Sachin and just to hear him talk a little bit about his career was really enjoyable for me and it's always nice for an excuse to put on the green jacket every now and then," he added.

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