The native of Ireland who now calls South Florida home went bogey-free on Saturday, moving to 13 under and joining overnight leader Austin Smotherman (59) at the top of the Cognizant Classic leaderboard in Palm Beach Gardens.
Lowry said his goal going into Saturday — which had tee times moved up because of anticipated bad weather — was just to get into one of the final two groups for Sunday, then did a little better than that.
"It's not necessarily easy to lead around this golf course," said Lowry. There's a lot of very difficult shots.
"But I'm up there where I want to be. I've had a few chances to win this tournament, and hopefully I can convert it tomorrow."
He's had more than a few. It's almost become an annual tradition.
Lowry was second in 2022 when the event was still called the Honda Classic, losing the lead in a most bizarre fashion at the end — getting caught in a deluge that wreaked havoc on the final hole. Sepp Straka wound up winning by one shot, and Lowry wound up getting soaked.
"You get good breaks and bad breaks, and that was a bad break," Lowry said. "Yeah, we'll see. Hopefully none of that tomorrow."
He tied for fifth at PGA National a year later, had the solo lead going into the final round of the Cognizant before finishing tied for fourth in 2024, then tied for 11th last year.
Lowry is chasing a fourth PGA Tour title, Smotherman is seeking his first.
A birdie-birdie finish might have given 31-year-old American Smotherman a little momentum headed into Sunday.
"Most excited for tomorrow," Smotherman said. "Hitting golf shots in front of all these fans and hearing people yelling your name and refocusing and trying to do it again the next shot, I think it's a fun challenge ... I feel like I am ready."
Colombia's Nico Echavarria (66) and Taylor Moore (67) were a shot back at 12 under, and Jimmy Stanger — who'll earn a cheque on tour for the first time since April 2024, after spending the last two years dealing with serious elbow issues — is alone in fifth at 11 under after shooting a 65 on Saturday.
"It just feels good to be back," Stanger said. "It feels good to be playing a weekend. It's been a couple years. It's good to be healthy. It's just a cherry on top to be in contention here this week."
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