SHANE Lowry confessed that he endured a torrid equipment issue ahead of this week’s API at Bay Hill.
The 2019 Open winner has been battling with his driver in recent weeks after breaking his usual one in the lead up to the $20m Signature event.
And he struggled with the driver during the opening round of the Florida tournament as he ranked 40th from 72-man field.
And the Clara icon admitted he tested 15 different drivers on the range while searching for a solution to his woes.
He said: “I think there was something wrong with the driver I was using last week (Cognizant Classic).
“It’s another Srixon one. I have no idea.
“I had about 15 drivers on the range on Tuesday here, so no idea which one I ended up with.”
From images available from Bay Hill, it appears Lowry is using his club sponsor’s Srixon ZXi LS, one of the top-performing drivers on the market in 2025.
Despite this, the rest of his game was outstanding, helping him post a three-under-par 69 to sit in T2 after day one. His approach play was the best in the field, gaining, while he ranked 10th in putting.
The Offaly ace reckons he’s been short of time to himeself with a busy tour schedule, and he’s also been playing in the simulator TGL.
He added: “I’ve been tinkering a little bit with drivers,” he explained. “I think there’s something wrong with the driver I was using last week for a few days.
“I used something different on Sunday and something different again today.
“So I don’t have a hundred percent trust in that yet, but I did hit some really nice drives towards the end, apart from 18.”
“I’m pretty happy with what I have in the bag, I just need to be able to stand up on holes like 18 and trust myself to start it down the left and commit to that shot.
“As the week goes on, hopefully, I’ll do that—and yeah, you never know where it will leave me.”
“Yeah, I haven’t had much time to myself the last couple of weeks,” he admitted.
“TGLs, charity days, golf tournaments—yeah, but that’s my job, so it could be worse, I could be doing worse things.”
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