Shane Lowry is known for having a good time, on and off the golf course. Following Thursday's opening round of the 152nd Open Championship, he surely is in good spirits.
Lowry, part of the afternoon wave, walked off the course posting a 5-under 66. That is the lowest opening round score of his Open Championship career. As he strolled off 18, he held the lead. Ultimately, Daniel Brown (ranked 272nd in the world), passed him at 6-under.
Nevertheless, Lowry played flawless golf on a day where the proved incredibly difficult. Of the 156 golfers that competed, only 17 finished under par.
Meanwhile, some of the game's best like Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau struggled mightily. The legend himself, Tiger Woods, also had a rough go Thursday. He finished 8-over par and is staring at an early exit from Royal Troon.
Following his opening 18, Lowry maintained composure and put his great start into perspective.
“I'm pretty happy, but it's only one day. We've got three more days. I kept telling myself that out there because for some reason I felt like the crowd were getting very excited out there. It was late in the afternoon. A few points the attendance were high out there, I'd say. They were quite excitable out there, and it felt more like the weekend,” Lowry said.
“I just kept on telling myself there's a lot more to do and there's a few days left, so I just kind of stayed in my lane and hit some good shots, and I was pretty happy with how I handled myself.”
Handled himself is quite the understatement.
Lowry was one of only three players to turn in a clean card, with five birdies and zero bogeys. The aforementioned Brown and Justin Rose did so also.
Shane Lowry looking to repeat history at The Open
The last time Shane Lowry shot under par to begin The Open was in 2019 at Royal Portrush. He would go on to win his first and only major three days later. But the 2019 Golfer of the Year is not putting any stock into that.
“Yeah. I mean, that doesn't mean anything. That was five years ago,” said Lowry.
Following a couple years with some tumultuous play, the Irishman seems to have found proper form. He, alongside teammate and fellow Irishman Rory McIroy, won the Zurich Classic earlier this year. He followed that up with a T6 at the PGA Championship, a top 20 finish at the U.S. Open and closed in ninth at his last tournament, the Travelers Championship.
Indeed, there is a lot of golf left to play this week. The 37-year-old pro took advantage of the afternoon wave that saw lower winds and better scores. Can he replicate that Friday? If so, he likely will be in the mix for another Open Championship Sunday evening.
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