SHANE LOWRY KNOWS golf can be a maddening game of self-reproach but today he bounded to meet the media at Royal Portrush and smiled the smile of a man who had spent the day on good terms with his game.
Lowry signed for a one-under round of 70 having endured some of the day’s worst weather at the worst possible time, but his shooting under par means he is within three shots of the early clubhouse leaders at the 153rd Open Championship.
“I think I adapted pretty well”, said Lowry. I think I played very well today. I was really happy with my day. Probably one or two shots, but any time you shoot one-under par around Portrush in those conditions, I think is decent.
“Everything is great. I’m happy. I’ve fought with this round of golf in my head for a few weeks now. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The first tee shot wasn’t that easy. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable there.
“I felt like I managed to handle myself very well.
“All day I felt like I handled myself really well. Crowds were amazing. Everything about this tournament has just been great. I tried to kind of use that as motivation instead of sometimes you can put a bit too much pressure on yourself. I tried to use it in a different way today, and I felt like I did a good job with that.”
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Where most players took irons, Lowry took driver off that difficult first tee, and his aggression was almost rewarded: a brilliant second shot to eight feet did not get the birdie it deserved. Lowry did birdie the par-5 second, however, and picked up another shot on the par-three sixth before the course was deluged with heavy rain. Amid the difficult conditions, Lowry bogeyed the ninth hole but made a huge par save with a lengthy putt on 11, and while he dropped a shot on the par-three 13th, he drained a lengthy putt on 17 for birdie, his fist pumping as the ball dropped.
“The 11th hole was like the worst hole to get the weather we got in. We all really struggled, and I fortunately made a great putt for par.
“I think there’s going to be certain times in the tournament where that’s going to happen, and you just need to kind of put your head down and battle through it and see where it leaves you.
“Obviously 13 was a bit disappointing. I played the wind wrong with my tee shot and made a bad bogey there.
“Eleven was huge. To hole putts like that for par is big. Standing on the tee, you’re praying for a par. That’s all you’re trying to do. It’s nearly playing like a par-five.”
Lowry was handed a blockbuster pairing with Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, and while Morikawa struggled to a four-over and was spotted on the range after his round, Scheffler carded an ominous, three-under round of 68, leaving him just a shot off the lead.
Unusually wayward off the tee, Scheffler excelled on the greens to put himself in prime position.
“I actually thought I drove it pretty good”, said Scheffler. “I don’t know what you guys are seeing. When it’s raining sideways, it’s actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway.
“I had one swing I wasn’t too happy with on maybe the 2nd hole, but outside of that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.”
Elsewhere, Jon Rahm is tied with Lowry on one-under, after a round in which he berated a fan who whistled at the top of his backswing on the 11th tee.
“If I were to paint a picture, you have the hardest tee shot on the course, raining, into the wind off the left, it’s enough”, said Rahm. I know they’re not doing it on purpose. It just seemed like somebody trying to get a hold of someone for whatever it is. It was bad timing.
“I think I just used the moment to let out any tension I had in me. It is what it is. To be honest, it probably didn’t affect as much as I made it sound like. It was a bad swing
as well. Just a difficult hole.
“I mean, it’s frustrating, but it is what it is. It’s an everyday thing in golf.”
Matt Fitzpatrick shares the lead with Jacob Skov Olesen and Li Haotong, with Matthew Jordan and Sadom Kaewkanjana alongside Scheffler a shot further back.
Tom McKibbin endured an up-and-down day to sign for a round of one-over, while Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke are in a battle to make the cut, having each shot four-over.
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Shane Lowry delighted as he hangs tough with Scheffler to remain in contention at Portrush
SHANE LOWRY KNOWS golf can be a maddening game of self-reproach but today he bounded to meet the media at Royal Portrush and smiled the smile of a man who had spent the day on good terms with his game.
Lowry signed for a one-under round of 70 having endured some of the day’s worst weather at the worst possible time, but his shooting under par means he is within three shots of the early clubhouse leaders at the 153rd Open Championship.
“I think I adapted pretty well”, said Lowry. I think I played very well today. I was really happy with my day. Probably one or two shots, but any time you shoot one-under par around Portrush in those conditions, I think is decent.
“Everything is great. I’m happy. I’ve fought with this round of golf in my head for a few weeks now. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The first tee shot wasn’t that easy. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable there.
“I felt like I managed to handle myself very well.
“All day I felt like I handled myself really well. Crowds were amazing. Everything about this tournament has just been great. I tried to kind of use that as motivation instead of sometimes you can put a bit too much pressure on yourself. I tried to use it in a different way today, and I felt like I did a good job with that.”
Where most players took irons, Lowry took driver off that difficult first tee, and his aggression was almost rewarded: a brilliant second shot to eight feet did not get the birdie it deserved. Lowry did birdie the par-5 second, however, and picked up another shot on the par-three sixth before the course was deluged with heavy rain. Amid the difficult conditions, Lowry bogeyed the ninth hole but made a huge par save with a lengthy putt on 11, and while he dropped a shot on the par-three 13th, he drained a lengthy putt on 17 for birdie, his fist pumping as the ball dropped.
“The 11th hole was like the worst hole to get the weather we got in. We all really struggled, and I fortunately made a great putt for par.
“I think there’s going to be certain times in the tournament where that’s going to happen, and you just need to kind of put your head down and battle through it and see where it leaves you.
“Obviously 13 was a bit disappointing. I played the wind wrong with my tee shot and made a bad bogey there.
“Eleven was huge. To hole putts like that for par is big. Standing on the tee, you’re praying for a par. That’s all you’re trying to do. It’s nearly playing like a par-five.”
Lowry was handed a blockbuster pairing with Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, and while Morikawa struggled to a four-over and was spotted on the range after his round, Scheffler carded an ominous, three-under round of 68, leaving him just a shot off the lead.
Unusually wayward off the tee, Scheffler excelled on the greens to put himself in prime position.
“I actually thought I drove it pretty good”, said Scheffler. “I don’t know what you guys are seeing. When it’s raining sideways, it’s actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway.
“I had one swing I wasn’t too happy with on maybe the 2nd hole, but outside of that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.”
Elsewhere, Jon Rahm is tied with Lowry on one-under, after a round in which he berated a fan who whistled at the top of his backswing on the 11th tee.
“If I were to paint a picture, you have the hardest tee shot on the course, raining, into the wind off the left, it’s enough”, said Rahm. I know they’re not doing it on purpose. It just seemed like somebody trying to get a hold of someone for whatever it is. It was bad timing.
“I think I just used the moment to let out any tension I had in me. It is what it is. To be honest, it probably didn’t affect as much as I made it sound like. It was a bad swing
as well. Just a difficult hole.
“I mean, it’s frustrating, but it is what it is. It’s an everyday thing in golf.”
Matt Fitzpatrick shares the lead with Jacob Skov Olesen and Li Haotong, with Matthew Jordan and Sadom Kaewkanjana alongside Scheffler a shot further back.
Tom McKibbin endured an up-and-down day to sign for a round of one-over, while Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke are in a battle to make the cut, having each shot four-over.
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Golf In The Mix Shane Lowry the open 2025