Irish with work to do at Liberty National and Carnoustie; Mehaffey at Q-School
Shane Lowry (Chris Keane/USGA)
SHANE LOWRY put a nightmare start behind him and chiseled out a level par 71 to keep his FedEx Cup hopes alive in the Northern Trust at windy Liberty National.
As Seamus Power scrambled brilliantly to share 30th after a one-under 70, Lowry had to dig deep to match an out of sorts Rory McIlroy, coming back from three-over after three holes to sit just inside the cut line. Scores
Under pressure to qualify for the Ryder Cup on merit, the Offaly man knows a missed cut means he will not make the top 70 in the FedEx Cup who progress to next week’s BMW Championship.
But after opening with a double-bogey six at the 10th and then three-putting the 12th to go three-over, he made five birdies and two bogeys in his next 14 holes before making a six-footer for a scrambling par at the last.
Power hit only two greens on his back nine but scrambled six times for par to shoot 70 and share 34th, eight shots behind Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas, who shot eight-under 63s to lead by three strokes from Harold Varner III.
“It was one of the days where I holed a lot of putts which you need to do in conditions like we had this morning,” said Power, who was projected to fall two spots to 75th in the FedEx Cup standings with 66th-ranked Lowry set to fall to 70th.
“Saying that, I really didn’t have my ‘A’ game as there were pins out there that I would have no hesitation in attacking but then standing here and being under par is a great score.”
McIlroy had five birdies and five bogeys as well as two three-putts in a level par 71 that left him tied 52nd with Lowry.
In the D+D Real Czech Masters, Henrik Stenson began his quest for one of Padraig Harrington’s three wildcards when he fired a bogey-free 67 in front of the European Ryder Cup skipper to share the first-round lead with Australian Maverick Antcliff.
The Swede finished the day a shot ahead of another potential pick in Danny Willett with Harrington tied 18th after a two-under 70 at Albatross Golf Resort.
Nelly Korda of The United States tees off on the fifteenth hole during Day One of the AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie Golf Links on August 19, 2021 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Warren Little/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Gavin Moynihan was 37th after a level-par 71 but Niall Kearney and Michael Young, who had made a last-minute dash from Qatar to make his first European Tour appearances as a professional, were108th after 76s.
At the AIG Women’s Open, Leona Maguire bogeyed the last to open with a level par 72 that left her five shots off the pace at Carnoustie.
The Co Cavan star made three birdies and three bogeys to share 41st as world No 1 Nelly Korda shot a five-under 67 to share the lead with Korea’s Sei Young Kim and Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom.
Castlewarden amateur Lauren Walsh was 90th after a 74 as Scottish amateur Louise Duncan shot 68 to share fourth with Yaka Saso, Georgia Hall, Andrea Lee on four-under.
Meanwhile, Micahel Hoey shot a four-under 67 to go into the final round of the Sydbank Esbjerg Challenge tied 22nd on one-under, eight shots behind Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson with John Murphy 36th on one-over after a 71.
On the Symetra Tour, Olivia Mehaffey shot a one-over 73 in the opening round of the Symetra Tour Q-School Stage I at Shadow Ridge Golf Course at Rancho Mirage in California.
The Royal County Down Ladies and Tandragee star mixed four birdies with three bogeys and a double-bogey to share 104th place.
There will be a cut after 54 holes to a minimum of the low 125 players and ties. However, the next score, or scores, will be included within the cut if the total number of players does not exceed 156.
A minimum of the top-95 players and ties after 72 holes will advance to Stage II from Oct. 21-24 in Venice, Fla., on the Panther Course and Bobcat Course at Plantation Golf and Country Club.
