A ball-striking masterclass in very testing conditions at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open showed why Shane Lowry has been making a huge impact in world golf in recent weeks.
The Offaly native made a real name for himself on the opening day of the Masters in April, before getting right into contention at the Players Championship last week, but the world number 35 claimed that today’s performance at The K Club, where he posted one under par,was as good as he has hit the golf ball this year.
And despite the fact that Lowry will finish the opening day six shots off leader Danny Willett, he is well ensconced inside the top 20 and will be hoping his afternoon tee-time on Friday will allow him to make ground on the Masters champion and the other leaders who took advantage of Thursday’s afternoon sunshine.
The luck of the draw was certainly unkind to Lowry for today’s opening round as he teed it up at 8:35am this morning with incessant rain falling at the County Kildare course.
But Lowry, starting on the back nine, took the conditions in his stride as he opened with a birdie on his opening par five.
The sometimes-reachable tenth was playing very long in the driving rain, forcing Lowry to lay up to 100 yards, however, his sublime chip got to within eight feet and he made no mistake with the birdie putt.
Lowry’s impeccable iron play led to solid birdie chances on the following four holes but nothing dropped as he lipped out on the 13th and was inches from sinking an 18-footer on the par three 14th.
Standing on the 15th tee, with Lowry still enjoying the honour, the heavens really opened and a near-torrential shower momentarily put the Offaly man off his game.
"I don't think I've hit the golf ball that well in a while." - Shane Lowry
With the crowd shuffling for shelter, Lowry had to break his routine and for the first time in his round looked agitated. The resulting drive hooked left, leaving Lowry in the thick stuff with little chance of reaching the long par four.
Again the short game was called upon, laying up to a good number, but this time his approach was 30 feet short and resulted in a swift return to level par.
The daunting 16th hole followed and again the par five was unreachable in two, but Lowry played it perfectly, laying up to 100-odd yards, but his birdie putt from 12 feet just edged past the hole.
Another bogey followed on the short par-four 17th – Lowry’s eighth – as the Clara native overcooked his approach and found the back bunker, however, the former Irish Open champion bounced back with birdie on the 18th as his approach gave him a real look at eagle, pitching just six feet from the pin.
Lowry opened the back nine with birdie but handed it back two holes later, before playing the next five holes with near-flawless golf, and he will probably be disappointed that it only yielded two birdies, as he had a look at the hole on all five from the fourth to the eighth (Lowry’s 13th to 17th).
Lowry’s 18th – the Palmer Course ninth – required a pin-point drive with a very imposing tree loitering with intent in the middle of the fairway.
And sure enough, Lowry’s exceptional driving took the tree out of play as he ripped it over 300-yards down the wind-assisted finishing hole.
But then, with just a flick of a wedge into the green, Lowry either caught it a little fat or misjudged the wind as his ball dropped short into an imposing bunker.
A plugged lie gave Lowry little chance of getting up and down and he was forced to chip back to the flag with his fourth, eventually tapping in for a bogey, which spoiled a great run of golf.
Speaking to RTE Sport after signing for a one-under 71, Lowry said: “"I'm pretty happy. I played great golf today. I don't think I've hit the golf ball that well in a while. I'm looking forward to the next few days."
So while the future looks bright for Lowry who will take real confidence going into the next few days, Irish golf’s glorious recent past was just ahead of the Offaly man on the course as both Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington were just a couple of hole ahead.
And the testing conditions unsettled three-time major winner Harrington on his second hole of the day – the 11th – as the Dubliner signed for a triple-bogey, which left him under pressure straight away, despite opening with a birdie.
Then a double-bogey on his sixth hole led to a front-nine 40, before two further bogeys on his back nine resulted in an opening round 76, four over for the tournament and well outside the cut mark.
"It was tough," Harrington told RTÉ Sport. "It was cold, wet, windy. I certainly had my troubles on a couple of holes. I stuck in there. It would have been nice to make a birdie coming home rather than a bogey.
“It's a long way back. I’ll play my best tomorrow and do the best I can. I'd put myself a long way back here."
Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley enjoyed a much better round as he negotiated his way around the long course in level par, which will give him a great chance of being around for the weekend.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, McGinley said: "It's a real test of golf out there so I'm pleased. It was nice to go out on a big course that didn't suit me and shoot a pretty decent score."
