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European Tour: Portugal Masters top 10 power rankings

By Mike Randleman

VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 23: General View of crowds by the 18th green during day four of the Portugal Masters at Victoria Clube de Golfe on October 23, 2016 in Vilamoura, Portugal. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 23: General View of crowds by the 18th green during day four of the Portugal Masters at Victoria Clube de Golfe on October 23, 2016 in Vilamoura, Portugal. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /
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Portugal Masters
FARO, PORTUGAL – OCTOBER 14: Shane Lowry of Ireland holds the trophy after winning the Portugal Masters at the Victoria golf course at Vilamoura on October 14, 2012 in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) /

This is Shane Lowry’s first playing of the Portugal Masters since 2014, but the 30-year-old Irishman is coming back to a tournament that’s treated him well.

A comeback win in 2012 stands out most of a resume in Portugal that lists five made cuts in six tries and four total top-35 finishes.

Lowry’s last 11 rounds at Dom Pedro have been under par. Even in his one missed cut he was one-under-par and missed by one.

Lowry is back in Europe after playing a PGA Tour heavy schedule. A T7 at the Wyndham Championship wasn’t enough to get him into the FedEx Cup Playoffs at No. 127 in the standings, and he’s taken four weeks off since. He’ll still retain his PGA Tour card through 2017-18 thanks to his win at the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

This year, Lowry had a disappointing run in the majors (two made cuts, no top-40s) after making the final group on Sunday at the 2016 U.S. Open. He did have success against strong fields, though. Lowry finished T6 at the BMW PGA Championship and T15 at the Memorial Tournament. He’s made 13-of-18 cuts total.

Lowry hasn’t excelled in any statistical category this year but he’s built a reputation of being a straight driver with an inconsistent short game. If he’s hitting fairways this week, he should have enough chances at birdie to win on a course he knows well.

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