Early Troon trip pays dividends - Shane Lowry on what helped him get off to strong start in 152nd Open

Unheralded Englishman Dan Brown birdies last hole just before 9.35pm to set pace in Ayrshire

It was a Shane Lowry type of day. A bit like Paul Lawrie, the Irishman gets going when the going gets tough. A fortnight after paying a reconnaissance trip to Royal Troon, the 2019 winner rolled his sleeves up in challenging conditions to be the star performer along with Englishman Dan Brown in the first round of the 152nd Open.

Umbrellas had been up and down like a fiddler’s elbow on a wet morning on the Ayrshire coast while a wind blowing from the south, a new direction from the practice rounds earlier in the week, meant the world’s top players faced a stiff test from the opening ball being struck at 6.35pm and the final putt dropping more than 14 hours later.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Admittedly helped by the wind having dropped a tad for the latter part of his round, Lowry signed for a five-under-par 66 – his lowest opening round in a major – to it one shot behind Brown, a DP World Tour winner last year but a surprise leader here based on six missed cuts and a withdrawal in his last eight events.

2019 winner Shane Lowry pictured during the first round of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. Picture: Tom Russo/The Scotsman.2019 winner Shane Lowry pictured during the first round of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. Picture: Tom Russo/The Scotsman.
2019 winner Shane Lowry pictured during the first round of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. Picture: Tom Russo/The Scotsman.

Double PGA champion Justin Thomas sits a further shot back, with two former Genesis Scottish Open champions, Justin Rose and Alex Noren, among a posse of players sitting three off the pace. Others to break par included current PGA champion Xander Schauffele and fellow major winners Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka and Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Lowry pulled off a fairytale win in the Claret Jug event at Royal Portrush in 2019 and would dearly love to be heading back there in 12 months as the defending champion. Three more efforts like his opening one - he birdied the fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th and 18th in a bogey-free opening salvo - and that could well be on the cards.

“It’s dinner time, lads,” joked Lowry, one of the game’s great characters, as he appeared in the media centre just before 8.45pm, just under an hour before Brown birdied the last to edge ahead of him. “Yeah, I'm very happy. I was lucky I watched a lot of golf this morning and I saw that the golf course was not playing easy. Yeah, just tried to go out and play my game and hit some good shots and hole a few putts, and I did that.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He’d been helped in that respect by his pre-event visit. “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,” he added.

England's Daniel Brown reacts to making a birdie putt on the 16th green at Royal Troon. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images.England's Daniel Brown reacts to making a birdie putt on the 16th green at Royal Troon. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images.
England's Daniel Brown reacts to making a birdie putt on the 16th green at Royal Troon. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images.

“But, in what was my first golf outside of America in a while, 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. 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.

“Fortunately enough, I also played this wind on the second day that I played here. I saw the golf course in every wind possible I could see it. Yeah, I guess that was a good thing to do, and it's paying off a little bit today.”

Though keen to “stay in my lane” over the next three days, Lowry enjoyed his walk down the 18th fairway. “A few pints of Tennents were had out there, I’d say,” he said, laughing. “They were quite excitable and it felt more like the weekend.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Brown, the world No 273, earned a place in the record books as the first player in men’s major championship history to shoot a bogey-free 65 or lower in his first career major round. “Yeah, amazing, isn't it?” he said of his stunning start. “I was nervous on the first tee, obviously it being my first major, but I hit a few nice shots early, so I kind of got settled into the round pretty quick.”

Englishman Justin Rose pictured during his impressive bogey-free first round of the 152th Open at Royal Troon. Picture: Tom Russo/The Scotsman.Englishman Justin Rose pictured during his impressive bogey-free first round of the 152th Open at Royal Troon. Picture: Tom Russo/The Scotsman.
Englishman Justin Rose pictured during his impressive bogey-free first round of the 152th Open at Royal Troon. Picture: Tom Russo/The Scotsman.

Thomas, who opened with a 62 to lead last week’s Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, is off to another promising start after signing for seven birdies, including a couple to finish.

“I played really solid, got it around,” said the American. “I felt like I had great control of the ball. I hit a lot of fairways, which is a key I would say to any major, but definitely in an Open being able to control the ball coming into the greens. A little bit of a hiccup in the beginning of the back nine (back-to-back bogeys at the 12th and 13th) but stayed patient and kept plugging away.”

Rose, who is making his 21st appearance in the game’s oldest major but only secured his place in the field when he came through a Final Qualifier at Burnham & Berrow last month, also carded a splendid bogey-free effort. ”Definitely happy to keep it clean out there,” admitted the Englishman, who birdied the third and seventh.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was Rose, of course, who did a brilliant job mentoring Bob MacIntyre in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome and, as he showed at Marco Simone Golf Club, on his day he’s still capable of showing glimpses of the golf that made him both a major and Olympic champion.

“I mean, yeah, it's obvious, isn't it,” he replied to being asked if he felt the clock was ticking in terms of winning this event. “Forty-four soon. History would suggest. But I think The Open offers you that opportunity maybe more than some of the other majors. Yeah, still feel very kind of confident in myself that I can actually still improve tomorrow versus today. As long as that's the case, I'll keep kind of believing for sure.”

After picking up two shots in the final three holes late in the day, world No 1 Scottie Scheffler was another player to finish in red numbers as he matched 70s from Scott, Koepka and Kirkpatrick. “I felt like all day I was hitting really good putts that were either lipping out or going right by the edge,” said Scheffler. “Hopefully just continue to hit good putts the next couple days, and I'll see where it takes me.”

As for three-time champion Tiger Woods, he struggled to a 79, with the bulk of the damage being done by dropping four shots in six holes around the turn. “I didn't do a whole lot of things right today,” he admitted afterwards. “I didn't hit my irons very close, and I didn't give myself a whole lot of looks today. I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend.”

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.

Dare to be Honest
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice