Lowry off to shaky start

Shane Lowry's eagerly-awaited professional debut fell miles short of what he was hoping for in the European Open at the London Club today.

While Dane Anders Hansen went round the Kent venue in a seven-under-par 65, the 22-year-old who won the Irish Open as an amateur 11 days ago slumped to a 78 to be joint 147th of the 156 players.

After signing his card Lowry emerged with the words: ‘It's over.’

Although he said he was not nervous, playing partner Paul McGinley sensed he was, and it would have been understandable.

‘He has propelled himself into a different stratosphere,’ said McGinley. ‘It was very difficult for him - it would be for anybody - but he is a class player and I didn't see any weaknesses.’

Lowry, who before his shock 300/1 victory had intended to stay amateur until after September's Walker Cup, commented: ‘I felt a bit flat and I'm glad to have it over.

‘It's the first day of many hopefully and there will be good days and bad days.

‘I just got off to a bad start, four over after six, and didn't feel myself to be honest. I knew it was going to be tough, it's not an easy course by any means.’

He now faces a huge task just to survive the halfway cut, but he has good company in that.
World number five Henrik Stenson improved only two strokes on the 78 with which he started last week's BMW PGA Championship, and the horrendous last six months of 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell continued with an 80.

The tournament also saw the professional debut of Australian Scott Arnold, top of the world amateur rankings last week, and he managed only a 79.

Hansen's chip-in eagle at the 563-yard eighth, his penultimate hole, gave him a one-stroke lead over England's Sam Little, Swede Peter Hanson, Indian Jyoti Randhawa and South African Thomas Aiken in the race for the £300,000 first prize - £100,000 less than Ross Fisher received last July in a sign of the times.

‘It's always nice to lead a tournament at any stage, but the main thing is to have a chance on Sunday,’ said Hansen, twice a winner of Europe's flagship PGA Championship and also twice a winner in South Africa earlier this year.

Hanson's 66 came only three days after he holed-in-one in a play-off to earn a US Open spot, while Monday was also a good day for Aiken as it was only then that he learnt he had a place in this week's event.

Players Championship winner Stenson, who ran up double-bogey sevens on both the 12th and 15th, said: ‘It's not a crisis and I'm not really worried. There were a lot of good things even though I was not getting the scoring going.’

Troubled by neck and back problems, New Zealander Campbell has not made a cut since the Dunhill Links Championship in October and at Wentworth a week ago handed in scores of 79 and 82.

He had to wait only three holes this morning for it all to go horribly wrong again. Two lost balls off the tee at the long 12th led to a quadruple-bogey nine.

Having lost his card by finishing only 131st on last season's money list, Aiken is currently 25th and commented: ‘I'm fine for next year now, but just to keep playing this year I've obviously got to rely on invites.’

He was ‘only’ level par at the turn, but then birdied six of the next eight holes.

Sergio Garcia came back from an opening double bogey to score a three-under 69, Rory McIlroy was on the same mark and both Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie one further back. Masters champion Angel Cabrera, meanwhile, shot 72.

Montgomerie was asked what his first professional round was.

‘A 76 in Switzerland which felt like 96,’ said the Ryder Cup captain.