Shane Lowry feels he is more than capable of going on a run this weekend as he chases his second Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale.
Lowry looked in control during his second round of 68 and he felt so as he moved into a share of twelfth place on three-under, five shots shy of Lucas Herbert who equalled the lowest round in major championship history with a 62 which was shortly matched by Sam Burns.
“I played nicely was in control of myself and gave myself a lot of chances. Couple of times at the end I was probably out of position but felt in control all day,” said the 2019 Open champion.
Looking for a fast start in the picture perfect links conditions, Lowry rolled in an opening birdie from eight feet. He went about his business in a professional manner, hitting all nine greens in regulation including a wedge to three feet on the 9th to set up his second birdie.
Big par saves came on the 11th and 12th to keep momentum rolling. The story of Lowry’s opening 36 holes has been his resilience which has been tested to its limit during a summer dip. After a scrappy bogey on the par-5 17th, the Offaly man regrouped on the 18th by stitching an iron from 176 yards to four-feet.
“If you are in a decent frame of mind you just get on with it and that’s what I did. Obviously the second shot on 17 wasn’t amazing but it could have ended up better. I said to myself going on to the last I just need to commit to a good tee shot here and try to put a couple of good swings on it to finish and I did. It’s really nice to do that.”
The two-time Ryder Cup winner felt in control out there and hopes to be able to hit the accelerator over the weekend.
“Why would I come here if I didn’t want to win? Who cares where I would finish in the FedEx Cup when I’m 75 you’re not going to say oh in 2026 you finished 25th in the FedEx Cup well done. I’m here to win the tournament and compete at this level and put myself in contention. I feel like I have done that somewhat I’m a few back but feel like I’m in a good position going in to the weekend.
“The way I am playing all I need is to get a run, if I get my run I think I will be dangerous this weekend.”
It was a dramatic morning at Royal Birkdale with Herbert lapping the field with a 62 to soar to eight-under. He was on 59 watch after he turned in 28 and birdies on 11, 12 and 16 kept him on track. At nine-under through sixteen he needed to cover the last two holes in one-under to match Haeran Ryu’s lowest ever major championship round (60).
He was unable to find the birdie on the par-5 17th and saw a short par putt to claim the lowest ever men’s record with 61 slip by on the last and he was forced to share the record low 62.
Not long after, Burns holed out from the green side bunker to also card a 62 – the third ever registered at Royal Birkdale to reach five-under – and match Branden Grace here in 2017.
Lowry, who has a 62 at the PGA Championship in 2024, felt the scores were definitely out there for the early starters.
“That east wind played a lot yesterday morning, and it makes the course play somewhat gettable. It’s still amazing golf, like it is amazing golf,” said Lowry.
“And then when it’s flipped, like it’s going to be hard in there for these guys in the afternoon. It’s not easy. I’ll probably be eating my words, but I can’t imagine a 62 out there this afternoon. The golf course is playing a lot different.
“Even I felt like for the first few holes the course was playing really nice, and it kind of switched on like 7 for us. Then it played difficult for the rest of the day.”
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