Lowry sets sights on a Sunday surge
ARMS outstretched, grinning from ear to ear, the defending champion Shane Lowry milked the applause on the 16th green at Royal St George’s after slotting a welcome ten-footer for a deuce.
There’s an essence of the showman about Lowry, and it’s been the par threes that have given the Offaly man’s licence to thrill on the old stomping grounds of Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond had just been appointed vice-captain of the club when he died suddenly in 1964).
Lowry’s had four of them so far in the championship, two on the sixth and two on the 16th. Each time, they injected impetus when much needed.
While finding fairways and greens aplenty yesterday, Lowry couldn’t buy a putt as he arrived on the 16th tee.
He was out of sight on the leaderboard and ignored by the Sky Sports cameras when he exploded into the limelight with a circus flourish worthy of PT Barnum himself.
A birdie-birdie-par finish for a 69 lifted Lowry into tied 12th place on five under par.
Once again, he’s demonstrated his liking for golf’s bigger stages in 2021.
Eighth at The Players, fourth at the USPGA, another sub-70 round would guarantee a decent defence of the title he won so gloriously at Portrush in 2019.
Crucially, he’d also bank serious Ryder Cup points.
After rounds of 65 and 69, might he even make a run at the Claret Jug again?
‘You know, I’m not sure I can win from here, but the way I’m playing, I can shoot six under,’ he said.
‘If 10 or 11-under is the winning score, yes, I can obviously win, but I’m not sure (it will be).
‘I think the winning score is probably going to be better than that. But who knows?
‘I’m very happy with how I handled myself when I got behind the black ball as it was very frustrating out there.
‘Standing on the 16th tee one over par playing the way I was, was quite frustrating.
‘I hit the ball well off the tee so I felt like I had chances but I left a lot of shots out there.
‘One under was probably the worst score I could have shot.
‘I could have shot three, four or five under out there and I would have been right in the tournament.
‘I’m disappointed but I’m kind of proud of myself for how I battled back.
‘I holed three nice putts on 16, 17, 18, which gives me a little bit of confidence going forward.’
A fast start, a hot putter, and further joy on the par threes could see Lowry light up yet another Open Sunday.