Some found carnage; others discovered a way to circumvent the obstacles placed in their way. And, in an opening round at the Open where the wind played tricks with the minds of many, Shane Lowry – at home in the dunes and with the taste of sea salt in the air – navigated a route to the business end in this 152nd edition of golf’s oldest Major with a wonderfully crafted, bogey-free five-under-par 66 on the links by the Firth of Clyde.
Lowry’s score left him alone in second, one shot behind 29-year-old Englishman Daniel Brown, playing in the penultimate group and who finished in the gathering gloom.
For Brown, winner of last year’s ISPS Handa World Invitational at Galgorm Castle in Ballymenaand making his debut appearance in a Major having came through final qualifying, it represented a remarkable turnaround in form given he’d missed six cuts and withdrew in seven events until making the cut at last week’s Scottish Open.
Lowry seemed at peace, in a serene place. His course management was exemplary. When he could be aggressive, he was. When he needed safety, he took that route.
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On a day when the wind shifted – compared to the practice rounds – to cause issues for many, their minds unable to comprehend the different challenge of this famed old course, Lowry, a Claret Jug champion at Portrush in 2019, stuck to the task. There were times when the club twirled in satisfaction and others when he followed iron shots before they’d even found the green so clued in was he, in his own zone.
And, too, there were those times when the putter acted as a wand. Indeed, Lowry single-putted six straight greens from the seventh – a run that brought birdie-birdie-par-par-birdie-par – in a round where he took 25 putts and ran up some 128 feet of putts made.
Lowry’s feat of going bogey-free was matched by only two other players, Brown and Justin Rose, who had a 69. The scores of others gave perspective to Lowry’s opening round. Bryson DeChambeau had a 76. Rory McIlroy a 78. Wyndham Clark also a 78.
Justin Thomas had a 68 but it included a double-bogey. Matt Wallace reached four under through eight holes only to triple bogey the ninth after finding a gorse bush. Such penalties were frequent, as the course – aided by the wind which exceeded 25 miles an hour in the early afternoon only to lessen to around 15mph later in the day – asked questions that many simply couldn’t answer.
Lowry, though, had the answers. A couple of weeks ago he made an advance reconnaissance visit to Troon and, by good fortune, the second of those two days of preparation was spent in the southerly wind that had been absent through the practice days.
But such meteorological factors were just one part of it. The fact was that Lowry played shots with an assuredness and a calmness that had his caddie Darren Reynolds often taking the club to be put in the bag while his player was already walking after the shot.
Lowry’s first birdie came on the par-five fourth hole but the real work was accomplished on the tough stretch of holes from the seventh to the 12th, where he single-putted time and time again.
Three of those times were for birdies (on the seventh, eighth and 11th) but the others were for par that kept the momentum going. Two of those putts, indeed, were from over 20 feet (on the 10th and 11th) and ironically he later had birdie putts coming home that grazed the cup. He finished in style with a beautifully struck approach to five feet on the last to close with a birdie that had those spectators in the grandstand cheering as if it was a Sunday.
“The walk down 18 was actually pretty cool. I said to Billy Foster [Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie], we walked down beside each other, and it’s the greatest walk in golf. And I got to do it on a Sunday afternoon with a full house, and that’s the plan, to try to get to do that again,” revealed Lowry.
It felt like it, for a time. Yet the task for Lowry is only one-quarter done with most of the work in front of him.
Pádraig Harrington overcame a bogey-bogey start to his own round only to grind out a 72 that could indeed have been even better and he will look to move up the leaderboard. But he had thoughts for Lowry too: “When he gets in front, he’s good. He generally stays up there. He’s a front-runner. For him, he needs to get going. He’s not someone who generally chases from behind. It’s very positive for him.”
Lowry’s form on the PGA Tour this season has included a win (in the Zurich Classic with McIlroy) and a record-equalling low round in a Major (a 62 in the third round where he finished tied-sixth behind Xander Schauffele). The return to the European side of the Atlantic has seen him continue that strong form seamlessly, able to account for the slower green speeds thanks to his diligent preparation which also included a four-day trip to Hogs Head in Co Kerry last week.
“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,” said Lowry.
Lowry’s opening 66 was his best first round in any Major. He knows what’s ahead, what he has to do:
“There’s three rounds left. If I don’t play well the next three rounds, it doesn’t matter what I shot today. I’m fully aware that I have a job to do over the next three days.
“Look, I’d give anything to win this tournament again. I’d give anything to give myself a chance to win this tournament again, and that’s why I’m here this week. This is obviously a great start to do that.
“It’s just hard to get there [in front]. You’re going against the best golfers in the world, it’s hard to get to the front. When you do get to the front, you kind of have to keep going and keep your foot down, and yeah, see where it leaves you at the weekend.”
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