Latest news with #Lowry
Irish Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shane Lowry stormed off US Open course after five holes because it was too hard
Shane Lowry revealed the moment he realised he was out of his depth at Oakmont, walking off after just five holes during his initial encounter with the daunting US Open course. The Offaly man is steeling himself for a comeback to the formidable Country Club to compete in the third major of 2025, two weeks away. Nine years prior, Lowry found himself leading by four shots after three rounds at that very venue, a lead that came after a humbling earlier experience on its challenging fairways. While currently playing at the Memorial Tournament, Lowry shared a light-hearted recount of his first clash with the Oakmont course in Pennsylvania, following his round at Muirfield Village. With a chuckle, Lowry recounted: "I've got a good story about that. The first time I played Oakmont was the Sunday before the US Open 2016. My coach was with me and we teed off on 10. We got around to 14, which is up beside the clubhouse, and I walked in. And I sat there in the locker room going: I have no idea how I'm going to play golf around this place." Lowry, set to return to Royal Portrush in July where he clinched The Open back in 2019, has opened up about his journey from a tough period to leading the pack by 54 holes when the competition kicked off. Although he ultimately secured a joint second place finish behind winner Dustin Johnson, he noted: "Obviously, we got a bit of rain, that was before the rain. It was firm and fast when I played it that Sunday and it was windy. "We got a bit of rain that week. Which helped us. But, yeah, Oakmont, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's going to play like and I'm looking forward to the challenge of it."
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Climate
- Irish Independent
Shane Lowry digs deep to remain in the hunt at Memorial Tournament in Ohio
The world number 14 carded a level par 72 at a rain-sodden Muirfield Village to go into the weekend just four shots behind leaders Ben Griffin and Nick Taylor on three-under. While he didn't find as many fairways or greens as he did in an opening 69 and holed little with the blade, Lowry's short game came to the rescue as morning rain made the course a gruelling test. Playing partner Griffin also shot level par to share the lead with Canadian Taylor, who shot 68, on seven-under. They are two strokes ahead of Akshay Bhatia, who shot 69, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler just three shots behind the leaders after a second successive 70. 'Solid day,' Scheffler said. 'If I holed a few more putts, it probably would have been a little bit of a different score. 'I felt like I was hitting my lines out there and did a good job of hitting a lot more fairways today. 'Definitely felt better with my ball striking. So overall, two-under in these conditions was definitely not a bad score today.' Lowry is tied for fifth, just a shot further back on three under, and after making ten of 12 cuts and racking up four top-ten finishes so far this season, he's desperate for his first individual win on the PGA Tour since The Open in 2019. The Offaly man missed birdie chances from between 10 and 12 feet for early birdies at the second, third and fourth before rolling in a seven-footer at the long fifth to get to four under. But with the rain still falling early in his round, he paid for missing the ninth fairway with a bogey, then got up and down from sand for par at the 10th. ADVERTISEMENT As the rain disappeared, he got back on the birdie trail at the par-five 11th, where he rolled in a nine-footer. He was clearly struggling to stay patient after he dumped an eight-iron right into the water at the short 12th. But he fired his third to 11 feet from the drop zone and made the bogey putt. Even after berating himself loudly for slicing into the rough at the par-five 15th, he almost holed his third for eagle but couldn't make the resulting ten-footer for birdie. Despite that, he parred the last three holes to keep the leaders in his crosshairs. Griffin is looking for his third win this season after following his victory with Andrew Novak in the Zurich Classic with another victory in last week's Charles Schwab Challenge. 'I always said, once I got my first win, it would free me up a tonne,' Griffin said. 'My mindset's never changed from before I've won to now. But I'd say I just feel so much more confident in myself and my ability that I've gotten it done.'
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Rory McIlroy coach adds fuel to Royal Portrush Open Championship rumours ahead of 2025 return
WITH the 2025 Open Championship heading back to Royal Portrush this July fans on both sides of the Atlantic are bracing for another links major. Irish eyes will be firmly on Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry after the Offaly star's maiden major win at the same venue in 2019. 2 The Open returns to the Northern Irish venue for the first time since 2019 2 Brad Faxon revealed there maybe some possibly changes to Royal Portrush GC's opening hole McIlroy famously shot a course-record 61 as a teenager, while Lowry rewrote the record books with a Saturday 63 on his way to lifting the Claret Jug. But there looks to be a major change to the Dundonald Links Golf Course ahead of this summer's tournament. Rory's putting coach Brad Faxon has revealed that a key change has reportedly been made to the opening hole at Portrush. The famous hole saw Down native McIlroy pull a long iron out of bounds to derail his 2019 Claret Jug bid, before his missed the midway cut at the venue. READ MORE ON GOLF "Now that was an in-course out-of-bounds they had set up for gallery control and some sponsor suites.' 'I don't think that is going to be out of bounds this year. I think there is a new tee, too. "I think it's back further. So that hole is not going to just be a lay-up necessarily, depending on the wind conditions.' Most read in Golf The R&A has yet to confirm the change, but the adjustment could play a crucial role in how players approach the front nine. Faxon added that Lowry, who won by six shots in 2019, is quietly confident heading back to Portrush this summer. Jack Nicklaus stunned as Rory McIlroy ghosts Memorial Tournament host and golf legend ahead of PGA Tour Signature event He added: 'Shane Lowry said the last time I saw him at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, he said, 'Rory has taken the pressure off me going back there.'' Meanwhile, The This year will mark the 10th time the course has hosted the USGA premier tournament. And Lowry knows the course all too well, the 2019 Open champion finished T2 after a heartbreaking +6 final round in 2016 after blowing a four-stroke overnight lead. But leading up to that week, Lowry reflected on how difficult the course was before admitting that he actually walked off the course due to its difficulty. The Offaly native was asked about the upcoming championship after his opening round at the
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Shane Lowry hilariously reveals why he walked off 2025 US Open host venue Oakmont after just five holes
PGA Tour star Shane Lowry has given some insight into this year's host course for the 2025 US Open. The 2 Shane Lowry of Ireland finished T2 at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont - the host venue of this year's championship 2 Shane Lowry was sepaking after his opening round at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village This year will mark the 10th time the course has hosted the USGA premier tournament. And Lowry knows the course all too well, the 2019 Open champion finished T2 after a heartbreaking +6 final round in 2016 after blowing a four-stroke overnight lead. But leading up to that week, Lowry reflected on how difficult the course was before admitting that he actually walked off the course due to its difficulty. read more on golf The Offaly native was asked about the upcoming championship after his opening round at the He said: 'I've got a good story about that. 'The first time I played Oakmont was the Sunday before the U.S. Open 2016, and I went out to play with - my coach was with me and we teed off on 10. Most read in Golf "We got around to 14, which is up beside the clubhouse, and I walked in. And I sat there in the locker room going, I have no idea how I'm going to play golf around this place. 'And then six days later, I had a four-shot lead going into the final round. Jack Nicklaus stunned as Rory McIlroy ghosts Memorial Tournament host and golf legend ahead of PGA Tour Signature event 'But, obviously, we got a bit of rain - that was before the rain. It was firm and fast when I played it that Sunday, and it was windy. "We got a bit of rain that week. Which helped us. But, yeah, Oakmont, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's going to play like, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of it.' He added: 'It wasn't that I felt like I couldn't play it, but I was just like, This is too hard, I'm going in - You know what I mean? "It was like it was one of those and, honestly, if it didn't rain - I remember it rained on Wednesday and Thursday that week. If it didn't rain that week. "God knows what the winning score would have been.'
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Shocked Shane Lowry admits he walked off US Open course as it was too hard for him
The Irishman is getting ready for a return to the fearsome Country Club for the third Major of 2025 in a fortnight. Shocked Shane Lowry admits he walked off after just five holes at Oakmont because he had no idea how to play the treacherous US Open venue. The Irishman is getting ready for a return to the fearsome Country Club for the third Major of 2025 in a fortnight. Lowry led by four shots after three rounds of the event at the track nine years ago, but not before suffering a chastening experience in build-up. The European Ryder Cup ace is currently competing at the Memorial Tournament, but gave an amusing insight into his first brush with the plot in Pennsylvania after his opening round at Muirfield Village. Lowry smiled: 'I've got a good story about that. The first time I played Oakmont was the Sunday before the US Open 2016. My coach was with me and we teed off on 10. We got around to 14, which is up beside the clubhouse, and I walked in. And I sat there in the locker room going: I have no idea how I'm going to play golf around this place.' Lowry, who goes back to Royal Portrush in July having won The Open there in 2019, explained his transformation from that painful experience to having the 54-hole lead when the tournament got started. In the end, he finished tied for second place behind eventual winner Dustin Johnson, but he added: 'Obviously, we got a bit of rain, that was before the rain. It was firm and fast when I played it that Sunday and it was windy. We got a bit of rain that week. Which helped us. But, yeah, Oakmont, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's going to play like and I'm looking forward to the challenge of it.'
