Lowry makes hay with a sparkling 64 for fast start at Canadian Open

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Shane Lowry made the most of drying Thursday ground as he surged towards the top of the leaderboard with a productive afternoon's work on the opening day of the RBC Canadian Open.
In stark contrast to close friend Rory McIlroy who had the misfortune to head out in very inhospitable conditions early on the opening day at TPC Toronto, Lowry enjoyed his lie in and then got up and running from the get-go after teeing off in the afternoon wave.
The Offaly man opened and closed with birdies and found five more, offset by just a single bogey, as his deeply satisfying 6-under 64 put him into a share of fifth place. He wasn't the only one of the late starters to tear up a track which proved defenceless in the drying stillness. McIlroy, having laboured to a 1-over 71 much earlier, must have cursed his fortune.
How scoreable did it get? Chilean Cristóbal del Solar, the world's No.316, looked on course to become just the 15th player in PGA Tour history to go sub-60, a 59 very much on the cards until a late wobble. Remarkably, he was still among four players who went lower than then North Course's post-renovation record of 64, Dane Thorbjorn Olsen matching Del Solar with a 9-under 61 for a share of the day one lead.
For Lowry, more than 300 places higher in the global rankings, there are big challenges and prizes rapidly approaching over the horizon. Next week's US Open is at Oakmont, where he finished second in 2016, followed by an Open in Portrush where he claimed his major moment in 2019.
That's what made Thursday's fast start so satisfying. The sole bogey came courtesy of a wild drive on the par-4 13th but otherwise he was a model of consistency, all parts of the game clicking in nicely. There was almost a highlight reel ace at the 200-yard par-3 11th when a sparkling iron from 200 yards was lasered in to four inches.
So much of Lowry's game has been working well this season. Sluggish Sundays have frustrated him, as has a cool putter but Thursday's birdies came from the following distances: 9ft, 8.6ft, 20.8ft, 4.9ft, 15.1ft, the four-inch kick-in and on the final hole an eight-incher after his eagle effort came up just short.
Lowry played alongside defending Canadian Open champion and Ryder Cup teammate Robert MacIntyre, the big Scot enjoying the company as he shot a blemish-free 5-under 65.
McIlroy's reset remained a work in progress as his return from a three-week break didn't go to plan with his new TaylorMade driver showing some positive signs but a few concerning ones too. The Masters champion shot a frustrating 1-over 71 at TPC Toronto to leave him with work to do when he returns on Friday afternoon, closing with back-to-back bogeys to undo some great recovery work midway through his round. In that stretch McIlroy arguably looked as fluid as he has since Augusta but the costly finish left an aftertaste.
'I actually felt like I played okay. There was a couple of shots in there, it was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging,' he said afterwards.
"I hit some good iron shots. Missed a couple of greens and didn't get them up-and-down, especially those last couple holes. Overall, I'm actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously need to go a little bit lower tomorrow and over the weekend to have a chance. Overall I'm still trying to work on some things, but yeah, I'm okay with where everything is.'
McIlroy had travelled north to one of his favourite stops on tour looking for something of a fresh start after his post-career grand slam glow turned gloomy with a difficult week at the PGA Championship in Quail Hollow last month.
But with the gruelling test of Oakmont to come next week, McIlroy wasn't sharpening much at all early in Thursday's round. After the course was given an overnight soaking of rain, the soggy start was matched by a stodgy scorecard as McIlroy found himself 2-over through his first eight holes.
Starting on the 10th, it was an overshot iron on the 12th and a three-putt on the 17th which put him in an early hole. A birdie four on the long 18th helped to get things moving around the turn and McIlroy added two more in quick succession to get himself back in the red.
However that momentum slowed as the putter cooled and an errant drive found tricky rough on the 8th resulting in another bogey after he failed to chop out of more thick stuff wth his third. The mood darkened again when on his final hole he took on a fairway bunker and lost, the drive plugging and a closing bogey leaving him at +1 well outside the top 100 by the end of the day. Some post-lunch range work was on the cards as the weather turned.
'Weather permitting, if it holds off, I'll go hit some balls. It's hard with the driver, like with the one I had been playing with previously, when I missed with it, I was a little bit left.' McIlroy added. "Then my miss with this one is a little bit right. It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit. It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you. Yeah, a little bit of practice this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow.'
There was one more disappointing Irish postscript when Seamus Power was forced to withdraw shortly after the turn as injury cut his challenge short.