Lowry Goes From Knees Knocking On Day One To Heart-Racing Sharing Second Day Open Lead

6 years ago by Comments Off on Lowry Goes From Knees Knocking On Day One To Heart-Racing Sharing Second Day Open Lead

Some 34-hours after admitting his knees were knocking loudly on the first tee and Shane Lowry’s heart is racing furiously in sharing the lead after two rounds of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Lowry, who had commenced his second round at four-under par, brilliantly raced to seven-under with three starting birdies before moving to 10-under par thanks to birdies on five, eight and the 10th holes.

The reigning Abu Dhabi HSBC champ dropped shots at 14 and 18 to sign for a second straight 67 and head to the scorer’s hut at eight-under par and tied with American JB Holmes (68).

“If they had offered to me that the start of the week I would have taken it,” Lowry said.

“I’m really happy to be where I am. I really, really enjoyed today. There’s not too many days like that on the golf course. It’s hard to describe.

“Hopefully more of the same tomorrow. And see where it leaves me tomorrow.”

Lowry was seeing the hole like a proverbial bucket over his opening 10 holes and in the process, was single-handedly delivering the loudest roars of the year’s final major.

His only disappointment though was having got to 10-under par to drop the two shots ‘coming in’.

“It could have been better. Every day you play golf it could have been better. It could have been worse, as well”, he said.

“It was a gGood up and down on 15 and 16 and 17. It was nice obviously — I’m disappointed. The only bogey, I three-putted 14, but it was a very tough two-putt. I duffed one on 18. I haven’t done that for a while. I don’t know what it was. Maybe I was trying to hit an 8-iron too hard. It was just one of those.

Obviously every day you play golf it could be better. But you look at the start I got off to, doesn’t get any better than that. Look, I’m very happy where I am and right where I want to be.”

Where Lowry is with two rounds to play is in very startk contrast to this time two years ago and then young father teeing-up at Carnoustie having sacked long-time caddy, Dermot Byrne after a first round 74, and then coming out in round two with coach, Neil Manchip on the bag.

Lowry went on to miss The Open cut for a fourth year running but now in his eighth appearance in golf’s oldest major Lowry wil have the overwhelming Irish crowd on his side.

“I suppose I struggled at The Open in Carnoustie last year. I didn’t have my caddie that I had for nine years and I was very down about how things were. I was very down about my game. And, yeah, I wasn’t in a great place mentally, I suppose,” he said.

“I’m in a totally different place now. Look, it’s chalk and cheese, really. It’s all different how I feel now to how I did last year. What’s the difference? I honestly have no idea. I think as a golfer you have such a long career, well, hopefully you have such a long career, I’ve been ten years now and it’s just a roller coaster.

“And I think the reason I’m so good mentally now is I know — I think, I feel like I know how to take the downs. I feel like the roller coaster ride is going to be there. Hopefully I have it for another 15, 20 years. You’ve got to enjoy the good times and take the bad times on the chin. And I don’t know the difference.

“Obviously, look, I’ve got a new caddie now. But I’m not going to say that’s the difference because I wouldn’t blame anything on my last caddie. I think I was maybe just not mentally very good and my golf wasn’t as good as it is now. But I’m obviously in a good position now.”

Only Lowry and Graeme McDowell (73 and 70) made the halfway cut and while there will a huge early third round follwoing for G Mac, Lowry is sure to command much of the afternoon focus.

And Lowry is no stranger to leading in Ireland as we saw a decade ago at Batray and just a few years ago at the US Open.

“The crowd has been incredible right from the first hole. And even the crowd didn’t seem that big around the third green, but the roar at the putt was unbelievable,” he said.

“When I holed that putt on 10, that long one on 10, it was just incredible.

“You can’t but smile, you can’t but laugh how it is. There’s no point trying to shy away from it. It’s an incredible feeling. Like I said yesterday, it’s an incredible feeling getting applauded on every green, every tee box. I’m out there giving my best, trying to do my best for everyone, I suppose.

“Like the Irish Open every year is quite big. We get huge crowds at that. It’s similar but it’s obviously bigger, this is bigger.

“But I’ve been involved in big tournaments and especially Irish Opens where the crowds got big and are behind you. So I have experience, but I can’t explain how good it is to be out there in the middle of all that, to be between the ropes hitting the shots. And it’s just an incredible feeling.”



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