Shane Lowry is halfway to ending his DP World Tour victory drought.
Lowry, who hasn’t hoisted a trophy on the European circuit since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, holds a share of the lead entering the weekend at the Dubai Invitational. In windy conditions Friday at Dubai Creek Resort, Lowry shot 4-under 68, tied with co-leader Nacho Elvira for the round of the day and one of just nine rounds under par in the now 58-man field.
Lowry and Elvira, the 38-year-old Spaniard who owns two career DPWT wins, sit at 5 under, two shots clear of David Puig and Marcus Armitage at 3 under.
Rory McIlroy, the first-round leader, backed up into a four-way tie for fifth at 2 under with a second-round 74, which included bogeys on three of McIlroy’s final five holes.
Lowry birdied each of his first two holes, then used his creativity to add three more against only two bogeys the rest of the way. The highlight came at the par-3 16th, where Lowry rolled in a 31-footer for birdie on top of McIlroy’s 45-foot birdie make. An upbeat Lowry then took to Twitter, calling it “refreshing” to play in such challenging conditions, while adding, “Fun needing to shape shots and hitting 8-irons 130 yards.”
“Very happy,” Lowry told reporters afterward. “It was hard. It was tricky. … Just had a great day out there. I really enjoyed it. I had a great group. Two great amateurs, and yeah, playing golf in a good frame of mind makes it a little bit easier. That’s sort of a little lesson for me for the rest season. If I play golf like that for the rest season in that frame of mind, I’ll be pretty good.”
Elvira birdied four of his final six holes to join Lowry at the top. He admitted to rough weather back home in Spain curtailing his prep to start the season, though despite the rust, he was pleased with adjustments he’s made off the tee.
“I feel like off the tee I hit it really well,” Elvira said. “That’s something I struggled with in the past, and we made a couple changes, and I think it’s paying off.”