Lowry wishing for Open mulligan
Shane Lowry made some birdies early but then faded. Picture Eoin Clarke www.golffile.ie
Shane Lowry was wishing he could have a back nine mulligan as he let a great round slip away in The Open.
The Clara ace roared into the Top-10 when he racked up birdies at the second, third, fifth and sixth to go out in a sensational 31 and move to four under par.
But he lurched home in 39 for a mildly disappointing 70 that leaves him five shots outside the Top-5 finish he needs to break into the world’s Top 50 and qualify for the megabucks WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron.
Bitterly disappointed not to birdie the easy 10th and then bogey the 11th and 12th, Lowry said: “I’d just love to go back and stand on that 10th tee again. Or stand over the three-footer I had there to go five under for the day.
“To go 5-5-5 on 10, 11 and 12 today was frustrating because I could have put up a decent score on the back nine if I’d have played okay. I didn’t have to do anything special.”
After a birdie at the 14th got him back to three under for the day, he finished with another three fives in a row by sandwiching a bogey at the 17th between par-fives at the 16th and 18th.
He said: “I was tipping along okay, then missed short putts on 10 and 11 kind of threw me from there.
“I think I got a couple of ridiculously bad lies in the rough on three holes on the back nine.
“I know you’re not supposed to be in there but the lies I got were pretty horrific. That was the story of my back nine."
Praying that bad weather will play into his hands today, he said: “I was hoping it’d be bad all day today, that would have been good for me.
"When I got off to a good start it was raining a bit.
“I just have to hope for a good score tomorrow and see where it leaves me.”
Lowry was one of many players to wear a black ribbon in memory of Bob Torrance.
The Offaly man never had Torrance as a coach but still enjoyed his company — and listened to his advice.
Lowry said: “I got on great with Bob. I don’t know how many other of the younger lads used have good chats with him but Bob used always tell me never to change anything.
“When someone like that tells you something like that, you listen to them.
“He was a great character and a great man.”
