LOWRY SHOWS GRIT TO STAY IN THE HUNT
THE pot bunker at the back of the devilish 14th outwitted many yesterday, including playing partners Shane Lowry and Lee Westwood, whose balls ended there, side by side.
The Englishman went first and splashed a superb recovery to within inches of the pin, prompting a spectator to call out to Lowry, ‘There’s plenty of room inside that, Shane.’
Lowry did well, if not as well as Westwood, and had to hole a curly five-footer for par.
It was one of many rescue acts by the 2009 Irish Open champion, who flies the flag for the home challenge along with Simon Thornton (70) after a gritty 70 for two under par
Lowry wasn’t pitch perfect and had the odd wobble, but he displayed admirable resilience when required, like the par five 17th where he made a birdie after being bunkered.
As a plus, he finished on the front foot with birdies on the par five fourth and then the ninth, either side of an outstanding two putt from distance on the short seventh.
‘I finished very badly yesterday. I was conscious of that and was pleased to finish strong today. Over two rounds, I could be a couple better then two under but I’m happy with that.’
Lowry will strive for patience today. ‘Because I don’t think the scoring is going to be low. If I can shoot in the 60s tomorrow, I can have a great chance on Sunday,’ he said.
As the fairways hardened and greens quickened, the scoring conditions became more difficult by a shot in the afternoon and only a handful of players broke 70.
For most, it was about digging deep and relying on patience and powers of recovery to survive. Graeme McDowell (73) acknowledged the difficulty of cracking the Balllyiffin brainteaser after ‘another grinding day’ edged him into the weekend on level par.
‘I walked to the first tee convinced it was a five wood,’ he began.
‘Then I thought it was a three wood, and finally I went for the driver, and hit it into the bunker at 310 yards. It’s that sort of course, and I got it wrong in my assessment about the likely scoring.
‘No one understands why it’s not being shredded to bits except the players.
‘It’s not as circus course, it’s tricky to judge what to hit off the tee and the greens have me scratching my head.
‘Jon Rahm took the driver approach today, hit it miles and he didn’t make that many birdies. It’s a course which makes you think.
‘Still, I’m convinced there’s a low score out there and I’ll be out early trying to post a number,’ he added.
McDowell wrestled with the jagged edge of the cut after slipping back to one over par for the tournament through 11 holes. ‘I got a little down on myself,’ he admitted.
A superb approach to the long 13th set up a birdie and when he holed from 20 feet for a gritty par on the 16th, he had earned some wriggle room.
Paul Dunne was among those who had to sweat it out until late in the evening before confirmation that he’d made the cut on one over par.
His doughty 72 was capped by a rare deuce at the 14th, which drew a wolf whistle of celebration from his Dad, Collie, in the gallery. Par save on the sixth and eight also proved crucial.
‘It’s a bit like France last week. You can jump with a decent score and that’s the plan for tomorrow,’ he said.