Justin Lower was emotional after his third round on Saturday.
PGA Tour
The end is in sight for many Tour pros, and not necessarily in a good way. That’s what this time of year can do to them. Their seasonal ranking is mostly set in place. Their job security is more seriously questioned. The offseason, short as it may be, is upon us.
This is what makes late fall Sundays so important. They offer a last resort in the money. They offer entry to the Sentry season kick-off event for the best players in the world. One win and you’re in the Masters too. Professionals begin to imagine their futures set on a very comfortable path, as long as they perform well.
Enter: Justin LowerFedEx ranking no. 95. World ranking no. 156. A zero-time PGA Tour winner. Winner of the Korn Ferry Tour in zero time. Lower has been chasing a win for years, but he’s also only chased consistency, and when he made the cut at World Championship of Technology this week he counted it as his 21st cut of the year. That’s a lot!
But he’s still short of where he wants to be with two rounds left this season, as evidenced by an emotional interview he gave Saturday night after the third round. Lower birdied the final hole to shoot 63 and earn some camera time. At first, there was a quick breakdown of his round, but then came something much deeper. What does a FedEx Cup Fall win mean to you?
Lower immediately started shaking his head.
“Everything,” he said, his eyes bulging and his voice cracking. “I don’t know. Um.”
He took a deep breath or two and gave some thought to how the field was playing and what score it would take to get a win. Somewhere between five and nine nine, he thought.
The following question was not about the note:
Why did you get so excited at this question?
“I have no idea, honestly,” Lower said, exhaling and wiping a tear from his eye.
“I told myself that I will stop (getting excited) in interviews, eventually. Simply – I work hard on this game. (Takes a deep breath.) I work hard for it. Sometimes I think I would never have made it this far. I’ve been through a lot in my life. It’s just so much fun. It’s not a sad thing that I’m crying (for him), I don’t know. It’s fun, I just love being here.”
The PGA Tour cut those emotions short in a social media post that you can check out below, but if you’re looking for some context as to why Lower might be thinking about putting himself on the tour, it was hidden. At least hidden from social networks.
The next words out of his mouth were filled with a bit of anger:
“I resentment all the changes they’re making,” Lower said. “This is another topic that I can talk about for an hour. It seems like every time I do something good, they make a difference. But yeah, it just means a lot to me. I just want to see how well I can do and prove to myself that I can do something in this game.”
On that note, Lower’s press time is over. He went to sleep on a par with the 54-hole lead and all the excitement that comes with it, fully aware that he’s not the only one feeling the pinch at the end of the season. (He’s not the only one feeling the pinch other season, too, given new eligibility changes pushed forward by Turi.) Which of them will be able to do something about it? Lower jumped into the final group late Sunday morning in Mexico, promptly making four birdies in the first six holes, pushing himself one shot clear of everyone else. It might just be his day.
