PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Shane Lowry admitted that practice didn’t go the way he would have liked in the run-up to this week’s Open. In fact, he admitted to needing something of a pep talk on the eve of the championship.
“Went to [have] coffee yesterday down at the Bushmills Inn and we found a little quiet room, we had a great chat for about 40 minutes,” Lowry said. “I left that room full of confidence and ready to go.”
That confidence spilled over to Round 1 when he played a perfect 3-under opening nine and rebounded from his lone bogey at No. 11 with a birdie at the 12th for a 4-under 67 and the early lead at Royal Portrush.
Full-field scores from the 148th Open Championship
Full coverage of the 148th Open Championship
It wasn’t at all what the Irishman had expected given his uneasy preparation for the first Open played in Northern Ireland in nearly seven decades.
“It’s the British Open, it’s in Ireland. I’m playing well, I feel like I should come up and do well. Why shouldn’t I feel uneasy?” he asked.
As if playing an Open in Northern Ireland wasn’t enough pressure, Lowry’s record in the championship doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. In seven starts at The Open he’s missed the cut the last four years and has a single top-10 finish. But on Thursday in demanding conditions he channeled that unease into a solid effort.
“I was probably as nervous as I’ve been in quite a while on the first tee, almost ever,” he said. “Look, nerves are a good thing, aren’t they? It’s where you want to be. I just hope I’m nervous on Sunday afternoon out there.”