3 days ago
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."
