Shane Lowry hoping for change of fortune as he eyes FedEx Cup play-offs

Shane Lowry feels he might be "owed" a little good luck in the FedEx Cup play-offs as he battles to qualify for the post-season for a fifth straight year.

The former Open champion is ranked 76th in the standings and needs to climb inside the top 70 at the Wyndham Championship after the field for next week's first play-off event was reduced from 125.

The top 50 after the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis will then advance to the BMW Championship, with only the top 30 making it to the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

"It’s funny, I feel like I’ve been in situations like this quite a bit over the last number of years," Lowry said in a pre-tournament press conference at Sedgefield Country Club.

"I missed out on the Tour Championship by one spot last year, by two shots in 2019. I remember playing here one year, I’d been told I needed a top ten to get to the play-offs, I finished seventh and I missed out by one point.

"So I feel like the play-offs nearly owes me one at this stage, so that’s what I’m trying to tell myself this year.

"I feel like I’ve been playing some pretty good golf most of the year. I’m coming off the back of a pretty bad week at The Open, which I was very disappointed with, but I had a nice holiday with my family last week to kind of regroup and hopefully get going again this week."

Lowry has recorded just one top ten on the PGA Tour this season and, although three of his eight top 20s came in the majors, the top-heavy points structure has not done him any favours.

"I think there’s been a lot of good, not much great [golf], which on the PGA Tour doesn’t cut it," the world No 30 said.

"I think I've had a lot of top-20 finishes, but you need those great weeks, you need those top fives to move up the