Emotions run high as Justin Lower, others eye maiden TOUR win at World Wide Technology Championship

“A win,” a visibly emotional Justin Lower said, “would mean everything.”

Such is this overarching feeling for the 35-year-old at this particular tournament at this particular time of year. Lower, who has three top-10s on the season and is comfortably inside the top 125 mark, at No. 95 in the FedExCup Fall standings, has been working hard. Damn hard.

“I just am trying to improve as much as I can out here. Everyone's really good and we're all trying to beat our brains out,” Lower said, “I’m just trying to see how good I can be.”

Lower is so very firmly in the mix through three rounds at the World Wide Technology Championship after a third-round 9-under 63 – the low of the day. In fact, a 63 is his low effort of the 2024 season and ties his career low on the PGA TOUR. He’s tied with Nico Echavarria – who is looking for two wins in a row – and Carson Young through 54 holes in at El Cardonal at Diamante for the lead.

Lower opened with three birdies in his first six holes and then turned on the gas on the back nine, adding three more birdies before going birdie-eagle to close out his day.

“I don't know, (a low round) is definitely possible on this golf course if you're feeling good about it,” Lower said. “I putted really well. Something I've been working hard on, one of the strengths of my game, so was just trying to get that in line. They went in today. Hopefully, they continue tomorrow.”

Lower said that while there hasn’t been a hefty handful of solid results this season, there has been plenty of consistency in his game – something that he said ticked a big box when it came to his 2024 goals. This week marked his 21st made-cut in 29 tournaments through the season, a statistic he knew immediately off the top of his head.

That’s when the emotions started to kick in for Lower, who, with a laugh, said he would “stop doing this” (‘this,’ meaning, get emotional) in interviews. Lower had three top-10s in the whole of 2022-23, and just two in 2021-22. He’s been up and he’s been down. The work has been there, and the numbers reflect it – he’s up to No. 77 in Strokes Gained: Total this season from 107th last season, for example – but to tilt a trophy and to just have the opportunity to say, “I did it,” means so very much.

“Sometimes I think I never would have gotten this far, and I've been through a lot in my life and it's just, I don't know, it's just a lot of fun. It's nothing sad that I'm crying. I don't know, it's just joyful. I love being out here,” Lower said. “It just means a lot to me.”

For Echavarria, it’s a bit of déjà vu just two weeks after he captured his second PGA TOUR title, winning the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. He’s bogey-free through 54 holes so far this week and having been in this position before, it’s just going to be a matter of managing his nerves he said.

There’s also a trio of golfers nipping at the leaders’ heels including Austin Eckroat, Joe Highsmith and Max Greyserman, who has finished second in three of his last five TOUR starts – including to Echavarria at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

The confidence for Echavarria heading into Sunday’s finale, however, isn’t stemming from his position on the leaderboard, but the effort he’s put in to get to this point.

“I’ve been playing good golf and I've been putting the right amount of work, the correct work with my team and here we are in the best position week,” Echavarria said.

So, the third-round leaderboard at El Cardonal at Diamante features eight golfers within two shots of the lead. There are winners and nearly-winners and those fighting for a TOUR card again next season and it’s all set to be a sizzling Sunday.

The emotions, as Lower showed already Saturday, will be running high. A win on the PGA TOUR means plenty – for anyone.

“I just want to see how good I can do,” Lower said, “and prove to myself that I can actually do something in this game.”