Shane Lowry keeps calm and carries British Open lead at Troon
TROON, Scotland (AP) — Shane Lowry found himself in a familiar position in the British Open, even if it required a detour that could have rattled him on a wild day Friday at Royal Troon.
Lowry took what seemed like an eternity to make a double bogey on the 11th hole. He recovered with two birdies over the final three holes for a 2-under 69, giving him a two-shot lead as the second round headed for a conclusion.
And now he gets to wait even longer before he plays again, a product of being in the lead and among the late starters on the weekend with the silver claret jug he won five years ago at Royal Portrush coming more into view.
He was at 7-under 135, two shots ahead of surprise 18-hole leader Daniel Brown of England (72) and Justin Rose (68). Lowry shared the 36-hole lead when he won at Portrush in 2019.
“Look, I’m going to have a very late tee time tomorrow. I’m not going to be playing for another 24 hours. I know what that’s about,” Lowry said. “I know tomorrow is going to be a long day, but I’ve done it before.
“For me, it’s just about going out and playing my own game, shooting the best score I can. Try not to worry about what other people are doing and just trying to take care of your own personal stuff.”
It was best to keep blinders on at Royal Troon. There were some harrowing scenes.
Justin Thomas, who opened with a 68 to get himself in the mix, shot a 45 on the front nine and played his best golf from there to salvage a 78 and make sure he at least made the cut.
Robert MacIntyre had an even tougher start. Scotland’s biggest star after winning his national Open last week, MacIntyre was stuck in pot bunkers and high grass. He was 8 over for his round through four holes — four holes! — and then put together a big fight on the back nine in a bid to make the weekend.
Aguri Iwasaki had them all beat. He took a 9 on consecutive holes and shot 52 on the back nine for a 91. One of those 9s was on the par-3 14th, where he took four shots out of two bunkers and once had to go backward toward the fairway.
Tiger Woods missed another cut in a major — that was one of the few surprises because he opened with a 79 — but left his mark by tying his own mark with his highest 36-hole score as a pro with 156. The only time he had a higher 36-hole score was at Bay Hill in 1994 when he was a senior in high school.
Woods had company in leaving early. Rory McIlroy, who started with a 78, needed a good start and got a triple bogey on the par-5 fourth hole. He barely moved it from high grass, chipped from more rough into a bunker and missed a 4-foot putt.
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler missed all that calamity. He put together another steady round of 70 — three birdies, two bogeys and the rest pars — and joined the group at 2-under 140. He was five shots behind Lowry as he chases his second major of the year.
Joaquin Niemann of Chile managed another 71 despite taking a quintuple-bogey 8 on the par-3 eighth hole — the Postage Stamp — that measures a mere 123 yards. He was in three bunkers around the tiny green and three-putted when he finally got out of them. Niemann also made six birdies in a most remarkable round of level par.
So much chaos across the century-old links, and it looked for a brief moment like Lowry might take part. It took so long to play the 11th hole that Jordan Spieth in the group behind him walked over to the side of the fairway and sat down near a gorse bush to wait.
Lowry at least kept it in play, though it was in the rough to the right. He was distracted by a photographer and angry at himself for not backing off the shot that he tugged left toward a clump of gorse.
Figuring it would be lost in the prickly mess, Lowry hit a provisional for a lost ball onto the green, a terrific shot. One problem. Someone found the ball. It was no longer lost, so the provisional ball was not in play.
Lowry took a penalty drop from the bush, going back to find a place where he had a swing, put it short of the green, chipped on and salvaged a double bogey 6.
“To be honest, I was happy enough leaving there with a 6. It wasn’t a disaster. I was still leading the tournament,” Lowry said.
He made five birdies on the day, and yet nothing felt better than a par. That came on the 12th, one of the toughest holes into the wind. He hit driver and 4-iron to 30 feet, two putts for a most beautiful, calming par.
“The best shots I’ve hit all week,” Lowry said. “From then on, it was playing quite difficult, but I felt like you could give yourself chances on the way in, and that’s what I did.”
And now comes a big opportunity for Lowry to reclaim that claret jug, for Rose to become the first player in the modern era of exemptions to come through 36-hole qualifying, and for Brown to become one of the biggest surprises since Ben Curtis in 2003 at Royal St. George’s.
And so many others are very much in the mix, starting with Scheffler, golf’s best player.
“I’ve played two solid rounds and it put me five shots back, and I’ll continue to try to execute and just continue to try to hit good shots and hit good putts,” Scheffler said, making it all sound so simple on a day when nothing felt easy.
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So much calamity, and it looked for a brief mome