TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 19: Shane Lowry of Ireland tees off on the third hole on day two of The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 19, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Every warrior bears the scars of battle and Shane Lowry believes he has thick enough skin now to deal with the vagaries of links golf as he chases his second Claret Jug at Royal Troon this weekend.

Not even a double-bogey six at the devilish 11th hole could distract the 2019 champion from his task as winds gusting to 30 mph blew away some of the biggest names in the game.

When it comes to the toughest chins in golf, Lowry hasn’t always come to mind as the Marvin Hagler or Rocky Marciano of the royal and ancient game.

But on links terrain, where he can give full rein to his natural ball-striking artistry, he carded an impressive two-under 69 to top the leaderboard in the 152nd Open Championship by two shots at halfway from a brilliant Justin Rose and his unheralded fellow Englishman Daniel Brown on seven-under-par.

Asked if, in boxing parlance, he felt he had a good chin, Lowry smiled and said: “Yeah. I’ve faced a lot of s**t over the years. I feel like mentally I’m in a good place.”

He added: “This week in my head … I think I'm ready to take what comes, take what's given to me out there. Almost ready for anything that's thrown at me.

“I feel like I'm ready to take it on the chin and move on. I just have to deal with it and try and make the best of it and see where it leads me… I have felt quite calm and composed the last couple of days. I've felt really in my comfort zone. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with how things have gone.”

He looked unlikely to face any adversity yesterday as he birdied the first and fourth to take the lead on seven-under, then followed a bogey at the par-three fifth with a two at the Postage Stamp eighth.

He looked unperturbed when he missed a five-footer for another birdie at the 10th, and while a double-bogey at the 11th might have proved a watershed moment, he dealt with that reverse with such aplomb he looks close to bulletproof.

His ball was sitting up in the right rough, but he got distracted by a photographer and “snagged” his approach so badly, it shot left deep into a gorse bush.

He initially remonstrated with the offender but realised immediately the fault was his for not backing off.

TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 19: Shane Lowry of Ireland reacts on the eighth hole on day two of The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 19, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Giving up the ball as lost without bothering to search, he regrouped by firing his fourth to around 15 feet only to be told his original ball had been found and he would have to play it if he could identify it.

A less mature Lowry might have become upset, but the Clara man kept his cool and after making six, he showed great resilience by following brilliant pars at the next four holes with birdies at the 16th and 18th.

“I felt like through that whole process of that 20 minutes, it was whatever it was, of taking the drop, seeing where I could drop, and I felt like I was very calm and composed and really knew that I was doing the right thing,” he said of his protracted rules kerfuffle at the 11th.

“And I felt like (my caddie) Darren (Reynolds) did a great job too; he kept telling me, 'we have loads of time; we don't need to rush this; we just need to do the right thing here'.

“To be honest, I was happy enough leaving there with a six. It wasn't a disaster. I was still leading the tournament.”

As for his response, he said: “I think the 12th hole for me was key. It was playing very difficult, straight into the wind. I hit driver, 4-iron there, two of the the best shots I've hit all week to about 30 feet and made par there.

“From then on, I felt like down out of the left coming in, it was playing quite difficult, but I felt like you could give yourself chances on the way in, and that's what I did.”

After rolling in a 20-footer for birdie at the last, he gave his round a high mark.

“I felt like I went out there, I was in control of my ball, did all the right things for a lot of the round,” he said. “Then, when I got in a bit of trouble, I felt like I really finished the round well.

“I'm pretty happy with the day. To be leading this tournament after two days, it's why you come here, it's why we're here.”

Brown added a 72 to his opening 65 to sit alone in second place on five-under with Rose a shot further back on four-under.

Dean Burmester, Billy Horschel were five behind on two-under but when asked if he considered himself a strong front runner given his penchant for knocking off big titles — the 2019 Open, the BMW PGA, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and the Irish Open as an amateur — he was modest.

“I wouldn't say I'm a good runner,” he joked. “I don't know. I put myself there in a few big tournaments, and I've managed to knock them off.

"So I've done it a few times. I don't know. It's hard to win tournaments. We'll see. I'll tell you Sunday evening.”

Asked if the chasing pack should be worried, he pointed to world number one Scottie Scheffler lurking alongside Corey Conners, Jason Day and Patrick Cantlay on one-under.

“I'm not sure Scottie Scheffler is too worried about anyone with the form he's in,” he said.

“I think if I give myself a chance on Sunday, I know I can do it. That's as good a position to be in as any.”