Rónán MacNamara in Royal Troon
Shane Lowry admits he would give anything to win a second Open Championship after a sensational putting performance left him within one of the lead at Royal Troon with his lowest opening round in a major.
Lowry was in magnificent form in South Ayrshire rolling in five birdies including a grandstand finish at the last in a flawless 66 (-5) that saw him under par after the opening round of The Open for the first time since he lifted the Claret Jug in 2019 and he trails English debutant Daniel Brown by the minimum on a day where seventeen players shot under par in tricky conditions.
“I’d give anything to win this tournament again. I’d give anything to give myself a chance to win this tournament again, and that’s why I’m here this week. This is obviously a great start to do that,” said Lowry is in solo second place, a shot ahead of two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas while there is a European Ryder Cup flavour to the chasing pack with Alex Noren, Nicolai Hojgaard and Justin Rose all part of a logjam at two-under.
The Clara man holed 126 feet of putts including seven one-putts on the front nine before he began the back nine rolling in a 23-footer for par on 10, a 20-footer for birdie on 11 and a crucial 11-footer for par on 12. Overall, he leads the field in strokes gained putting, picking up 4.73 shots on the field.
After three important par saves to start, Lowry rolled in from ten feet on the fourth for an opening birdie, he roared to the turn with back-to-back birdies on the 7th and postage stamp 8th before a birdie on 11 took him into the lead on his own on four-under.
Lowry had to wait until the 18th for his next birdie but it was worth the wait as a bellowing roar went up as he struck to five-feet from 177 yards to set up a stunning finish.
“I came here two weeks ago, and sometimes I struggle when I come back here from playing a season on the PGA Tour with the speed of the greens, but for some reason I got here, it was my first golf outside of America in a while, and I played a couple of practice rounds here, and I was really happy with how my speed was, and I wasn’t struggling to get the ball to the hole because sometimes I can be like that. My speed control was very good, and I seen my lines great,” said Lowry who was knocked off top spot by two birdies in the last three holes by Brown who carded a bogey free 65 to become the first debutant to lead the Open since Cameron Young in 2022.
“I feel like links greens when you start to see your lines, the hole feels quite big, so it felt like that today, and long may it continue.”
Despite admitting it was his best performance in The Open since his win in Royal Portrush, Lowry knows it will mean next to nothing if he doesn’t capitalise on it and at least give himself a chance over the weekend.
“Yeah, it’s the best I’ve played, I don’t know, I’ve played pretty good. I’m pretty happy, but it’s only one day. We’ve got three more days. I kept telling myself that out there,” he added.
“I felt like the crowd were getting very excited out there. It was late in the afternoon. A few points the attendances were high out there, I’d say. They were quite excitable out there, and it felt more like the weekend.
“I just kept on telling myself there’s a lot more to do and there’s a few days left, so I just kind of stayed in my lane and hit some good shots, and I was pretty happy with how I handled myself.”
The walk down the 18th hole on Sunday at an Open Championship is arguably the most special walk in golf and Lowry was cheered, roared and even serenaded by a packed Irish contingent walking down the 18th hole in Troon.
“The walk down 18 was actually pretty cool. I said to Billy Foster, we walked down beside each other, and it’s the greatest walk in golf, and I got to do it on a Sunday afternoon with a full house, and that’s the plan, to try to get to do that again.”
It’s fair to say that Lowry has saved Irish hopes at the 152nd Open after Rory McIlroy played himself out of contention with a seven-over 78 with Darren Clarke a shot better after almost making a hole in one at the postage stamp.
Two-time Open champion and three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington is well placed at one-over after a 73 while first Irishman out Tom McKibbin’s two-over 73 improved as the day went on.
Galway amateur Liam Nolan went birdie less in his opening round carding a seven-over 78 to lie alongside McIlroy.
World number one Scottie Scheffler birdied 16 and 18 to lurk at one-under.