Lowry wary of US Open scarestories as Walsh leads in Tenerife
Lauren Walsh. Picture: Tristan Jones>LET
Shane Lowry refuses to listen to the scare stories and insists he’s mentally preparing himself to take on Oakmont in next week’s US Open.
Early scouting reports from the feared Pittsburgh venue have been nothing short of terrifying with Rory McIlroy reportedly making a triple bogey on the second hole when he played the course on Monday despite hitting "three good shots”.
Lowry was meant to play that day but he skipped the trip to avoid more punishment after a gruelling week at Muirfield Village.
“I was supposed to go on Monday, but I didn't fancy beating myself up after a week at The Memorial, so I didn't bother,” Lowry said after carding a two-under 68 in the second round of the RBC Canadian Open, where he was just four shots behind halfway leader Cameron Champ on eight-under.
The Offaly man knows Oakmont will be far tougher than TPC Toronto but he’s keen not to psyche himself out before he gets there.
“I'm going to block out the noise of what everyone is saying,” Lowry. said. “You read online and think 25 over is going to win, but when you look at the forecast, it's going to rain the first few days. So you know that's going to make your course probably a bit more playable. So we'll see.
“You just have to take it one day at a time and one step at a time, and see what happens.”
The world number 12 did not play as well yesterday as he did for his opening 64 but he was pleased to put himself in position to challenge at the weekend, just four shots behind early halfway leader Cameron Champ, who shot 66 to lead by three shots on 12-under from Thorbjorn Olesen (70) and Richard Lee (64).
“I didn't play as well, but it was probably one of those where I probably felt like a golf course was easier than it was because I played so good yesterday,” said the Offaly man.
“I didn't hit it close enough today and didn't really do much really well, drove it a bit poorly.
“But you’re kind of going out there to put yourself and put a position going into again and I’m into the weekend now. But yeah, I think the scoring and the course was actually a bit more difficult today than yesterday.”
Starting on the back nine at TPC Toronto in cool and breezy conditions, Lowry dropped a shot when he missed the first of seven fairways before going bogey-free from there.
He made a 30 footer for birdie at the 13th and an eight-footer for another at the 15th to move to seven-under before using his short game to keep his momentum going.
At the tough, 508-yard 17th, he was 66 yards short of the green in two after finding rough off the tee but flicked a wedge to eight inches to set up his par four.
He didn’t birdie the gettable par-five 18th or first holes but after missing chances early on the back nine he got away with a pulled drive and made a 25-footer for another birdie at the fifth, then watched a 10 footer fall in the side door for par at the 220-yard seventh.
“It was beautiful out there yesterday, and there wasn’t much wind at all,” Lowry said of the contrast between rounds.
“Like there was a bit of wind up this morning, and when you're down in the valleys and between the trees, it kind of swirls a little bit.
“So it was tough to get that right and with softer greens, it’s very hard to get the ball pin high here. So you need to be in full control of your ball.”
Lowry has made no secret of the fact that he’s looking forward to the challenge of Oakmont, where he was tied second in the 2016 US Open, and he believes this week’s test can help.
“I think there's a lot of iron shots that are going to be needed for next week,” he said. “Taking spin off and been really in control of your spin and your trajectory.”
Big-hitting Champ has only partial status on tour as a past champion, nearly four years removed from the third of his three victories.
Lowry is seeking his first win this season but Lauren Walsh is chasing the first win of her career after carding a four-under 68 to take a two-shot lead into the weekend in the Tenerife Women’s Open.
“I hit the ball really nicely today,” said the Kildare star (24) who made seven birdies and four bogeys to lead on nine-under from Singapore’s Shannon Tan at Abama Golf.
“I didn't hold quite as many putts as yesterday. ButI hit the ball great and it was nice to make a birdie at 17 to get one of their bogeys back.”
Walsh bogeyed the first but showed her resilience by making six birdies in her next 10 holes and following bogeys at the 13th and 14th with that birdie at the 17th.
“Golf is golf,” added Walsh. “Everyone’s going to make bogeys. I was just happy I could put it behind me and move on. “
Sara Byrne missed the three-over cut by a shot after a 71 while Annabel Wilson (75), Anna Foster (82) and Canice Screene (81) also missed out.
In the KLM Open, Conor Purcell shot 74 to miss the cut by a shot at The International in Amsterdam, where Sweden’s Joaquin Lagergren’s three-under 68 gave him the halfway lead on eight-under.
At the Swiss Challenge, Alex Maguire shot 68 to lie four shots off the lead on five-under at halfway with Liam Nolan one-under after an even par 71.
