On a day where a preferred lies debate dominated the opening day of the PGA Championship it’s easy to understand why Shane Lowry comes across as a stick in the mud at Quail Hollow.
Lowry just does not like this golf course. In his previous six visits to the venue he has missed the cut twice with a best finish of T-34 for his efforts while he was 48th when the PGA Championship last visited Charlotte in 2017.
An opening round of 73 yesterday will have done little to brighten his prospects of bucking that trend.
After last Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to Sepp Straka, trying to patch up wounds at a golf course you openly despise never looked like a match made in heaven, rather a double whammy. Kick a man while he’s down.
That’s how Lowry’s round started as he bogeyed three of his first seven holes to set the tone that already, this probably won’t be Lowry’s week and a sensational run of just three missed cuts since the 2023 Irish Open and 24 top-20 finishes looks like it will have a rare blemish.
The world number ten found a spark when he holed a monster 68-foot birdie putt on the third and birdied the next but he closed with a bogey to leave a sour taste in his mouth.
“I always struggle around here and today was another one of those days”, said a disgruntled Lowry after his round. “I’m disappointed, but I’m more disappointed with my finish than my start. Two great chances on 7 and 8 and then bogey 9 is really annoying. It is what it is.
“I’ll just have to go shoot a low one tomorrow. I don’t see the ball going close out there and I don’t see birdies. It’s tough when it’s like that. I’ll give it my best tomorrow and see what happens.”
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