"Hopefully I can go one better" - Shane Lowry sets sights on 2024 DP World Tour Championship after a few close misses

Shane Lowry has played in 12 DP World Tour Championships. He has yet to win one, though he's had a few close finishes in his career. This weekend, he would like to finally earn the trophy and get the metaphorical monkey off his back.

The Irishman was asked about this after the second round of the ongoing DP World Tour Championship at Dubai in which he shot five under to move up to T5 on the leaderboard. He replied via ASAP Sports:

"Yeah. I haven't played it every year since 2011 but I've been in the tournament every year since 2011, so that's something to be proud of. It's been a long, decent career so far. I finished second here once before, so hopefully I can go one better this week."

Lowry will have to outduel Joaquin Niemann (seven under), Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton (both eight under), and Antoine Rozner (nine under) to get to the top of the leaderboard over the next two rounds.

He also has to fend off those close behind him such as Jesper Svensson, Rasmus Hojgaard, Matt Wallace, and Tommy Fleetwood. Lowry shot just one under par yesterday (November 14), placing him in 20th. His second round was a stark improvement.

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Shane Lowry addresses improved play from Round 1 at DP World Tour Championship

Shane Lowry addressed the media after his opening round, saying he didn't play as well as he'd hoped. The 37-year-old also acknowledged that the course proved difficult, since no one shot as well as he expected them to.

Shane Lowry addressed his second round (Image via Imagn)

Today, the scoring was easier. He said that the pins in particular were easier today than yesterday, adding (via ASAP Sports):

"I feel like this is what happens in this tournament where people get off to slow-ish starts from this morning, it gets better from there. I knew today I needed to shoot a good score."

With an improved showing, he moved up to fifth on the leaderboard. Shane Lowry went on to say he is "happy" with what he did in Round 2, admitting that the rough got him a few too many times:

"It's very, very penal, and the golf course is set up really well for good golf."

Lowry was four-under through seven holes but only managed to shave one more stroke the rest of the way. He said his shot on the ninth hole landed in the rough, but his tee shot on the eighth was close to landing where he wanted it.

The Irishman said again that it's "very penal" before saying that golfers have to drive to the fairway and hope the greens are "receptive."

The Ryder Cup star believes he'll be in good shape if he continues to hit fairways and roll the greens over the next two rounds.