Shane Lowry finds focus after breakout, leads Open’s war of attrition | The Open

The wind is howling, and Shane Lowry is blustering. Royal Troon’s 11th hole is dangerous enough without unnecessary intervention. A photographer held up the lens as Lowry stood over the second shot. Lowry fired the ball straight left into the gorse bushes. In moments like this, an Open Championship bid can be ruined.

The TV commentator apologized after the microphone clearly captured Lowry’s unbridled outburst towards the gentleman who had upset him. Lowry’s mood barely improved after a member of the public discovered his stray ball in an area that looked very nice but was scary and painful to get into. At this point, you can almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

Lori steadied herself. After a penalty, he made six double bogeys to preserve his Open lead. At the end of the game, Lowry retracted both shots and pulled away with the same advantage. He reacts to adversity like a champion.

Lowry told the story of a scene that lasted more than 20 minutes. “There was a photographer and when he walked over I asked him to stop or take a step back and he just stayed there,” the 2019 champion said. “When I went over the ball he held up his camera. I I should have watched it out of the corner of my eye. It was my own fault, so to speak, which was not how Lowry was feeling.

“I did the hard part. I hit the ball where you can find it, which is obviously a hard thing to do on that hole. I had a good lie in the rough. I just kind of lost it. Thoughts. You were too scared to go that way, so I just grabbed the club and went left.

“I hit a great provisional ball. The umpire asked me if I wanted to go down there and go for my first one and I said no. So I thought that was OK. And then we got there and someone spotted it. So obviously we It has to be found or you have to identify it. I guess if you declare it missing before it’s found, you don’t have to identify it. I’m happy to get out of there with six points.

Enough of this elsewhere. Tiger Woods made the cut with ease. The same goes for 2022 champion Cameron Smith. Tommy Fleetwood and Ludwig Oberg? no longer. Hometown hero Robert McIntyre ended his Claret Jug bid with a score of eight over par through the first four holes. Justin Thomas moved into third place overnight, slipping to 45 on the front nine. After a triple bogey on the fourth hole, an early start was inevitable. His bid for a fifth Grand Slam title will continue until 2025.

It was an exceptionally tough Friday, as evidenced by the fact that only 10 players were under par after 36 holes. These include Xander Schauffele and Jason Day. At the plus-one, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka lurk as threats.

Lowry’s standout performance was largely due to preparation. He visited Troon the week before the Open, where he was able to test the course with winds similar to those on race day. “If I give myself a chance on Sunday, I know I can do it,” Lowry added. It’s certainly reminiscent of Royal Portrush five years ago.

When star names withered, Daniel Brown stood strong. The general consensus is likely that the world No. 272 ​​will disappear the day after his heroics in the first round propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. Instead, Brown shot a 72 and dropped from 6 under to 5 under. Justin Rose, like Brown, must pass a final qualifying round to earn a spot in the 152nd Open. The 2013 U.S. Open champion is here to prove that from now on these hard courts will no longer be needed. Rose added 68 points to Thursday’s 69 points to tie Brown for the total.

Scottie Scheffler hid in plain sight at Two Point Below. Ranking No. 1 in the world for 70 consecutive years shows that he has finally started to get in touch with links golf. Had it not been for the final shot, when Scheffler failed to get up from 70 yards, he would have been closer to Lowry. Scheffler’s caddy, Ted Scott, lay out at various points during the game, battling food poisoning. “We don’t know if he’s going to be able to go this morning,” Scheffler said.

“On the ninth hole, when we came out, he sat on the 10th tee for 10 minutes. I didn’t even see him, which was a little unusual. He’s a warrior. He did a great job today, And overcame the odds.

This Open has turned into a war of attrition. So far, Lowry is doing pretty well.