Shane Lowry admits he was "shaken" by his poor start to the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but is taking the positives from a top five finish and the valuable FedEx Cup points that come with it.
On a Bay Hill course that he has been on record as having struggled on previously, the Offaly man put paid to that trend by finishing third, six shots behind tournament winner Scottie Scheffler.
However, Lowry and the current world number one had started Sunday's final round in a share of the lead before an early run of bogeys hurt the Clara native's chances.
"I was a little bit shaken after those early bogeys, I hit a great shot on the second and probably just half a club out, but, yeah, this type of course, it gives you nothing," Lowry said as he reflected on the outcome.
"I was close to being a lot better this week, but another top five, some well needed, much needed FedEx Cup points, and on to Sawgrass next week.
"There's probably only a couple of players in the world that can live with (Scheffler) playing like that - not sure I'm one of them. I was obviously just disappointed I didn't put any pressure on him early.
"I got off to a bad start, he got off to a good start. I was a few shots behind all day. I'm sure Wyndham (Clark, tournament runner-up) feels the same. But, yeah, he showed today why he's world number one."
Next up for Lowry is The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and he said his hope was to build on this past weekend's solid showing by pushing for victory.
"That's what this course is like. It does it to you. I'm used to playing major championships and I'm used to playing tough golf courses, and you have to roll with the punches," he said.
"I play these types of courses well. Obviously, my record is not great here, but I play tough golf courses well. Yeah, you just have to roll with the punches and keep going and keep fighting as hard as you can and see where it leaves you at the end of the day. For me, today it was third place. Hopefully, next week I go a couple better."
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