Shane Lowry seeks putting touch as he prepares to team up with Rory McIlroy

Shane Lowry will be hoping for better luck on the greens when he partners Rory McIlroy in next week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans after a frustrating week with the blade in the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head.

The 2019 Open champion had 32 putts as he made five bogeys and a birdie in a closing 75 that left him tied 64th in the clubhouse on one-over at Harbour Town Golf Links.

The Offaly man confessed at the Masters that he lost confidence on the greens – and that continued in South Carolina, where he was ranked second last in the field for ‘strokes gained putting’.

Meanwhile, Conor Purcell tied for fourth behind England’s Garrick Porteous in the Abu Dhabi Challenge, boosting his chances of winning a DP World Tour card at the end of the season.

The former Walker Cup star (26) went into the final round just one shot behind Porteous, South Africa’s Wilco Nienaber and France’s Alexander Levy at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club, but he never caught up after a bogey-birdie-bogey start.

While he sandwiched an eagle at the seventh between birdies at the fifth and eighth to turn in 32, he could pick up just one more shot at the par-three 15th and added a four-under 66 to rounds of 68, 62 and 64 to claim a tie for fourth place on 20-under.

“Great week overall,” said Purcell, who was pleased to make an eagle and 23 birdies and move from 39th to 24th in the Road to Mallorca standings in the race for 20 DP World Tour cards.

“Nice to make plenty of birdies and limit the mistakes. The game is feeling in a nice spot. I’m looking forward to giving it another go next week.”

The Dubliner finished just four strokes behind Porteous, who ended a seven-year wait for his second Challenge Tour win when he carded a bogey-free seven-under-par 63 to win by a shot on 24-under from French star Levy, who shot 64.

“It feels amazing”, Porteous said. “It was a good battle out there with some great players – Alex played amazing from start to finish.

“You always doubt whether another win will come, but I feel like my game is trending in the right direction. I’ve made plenty of cuts recently; I just needed to get it over the line, like I did today.”

Mark Power shot 66 and Daniel Mulligan a 72 to share 64th on five-under with Gary Hurley three-under after a 75 and Dermot McElroy 74th after a 77.

On the Ladies European Tour, Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh tied for 41st in the Joburg Ladies Open on three-over after a 74.

She finished 20 strokes behind maiden winner, Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland.

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