Lowry and McIlroy dig deep to keep leaders in sight at The Open
Shane Lowry of Ireland tees off on the first hole during Day One of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 17, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Tom Shaw/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Shane Lowry was almost doing cartwheels after he opened with a one-under 70 but Rory McIlroy was more relieved than thrilled as he overcame a wayward driver to match his pal and lie just three shots off the lead in The Open at Royal Portrush.
Having overcome the daunting opening tee shot with a nervy bogey and raced to three-under through 10 holes on a windy and occasionally wet day, the Holywood star made three bogeys in four-hole stretch from the 11th.
He had to save par from 12 feet at the 15th to remain at level par but he picked up a late birdie from 12 feet at the 17th to keep his title chances very much alive on a day when he found just two fairways all day to rank 154th in the 156-man field.
Dane Jacob Skov Olesen, China’s Haotong Li, England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout overcame the south easterly wind to card four-under 67s and lead by a shot in the clubhouse from England’s Matthew Jordan and Tyrrell Hatton, the Buddhist monk from Thailand Sadom Kaewkanjana and ominously, the world number one Scottie Scheffler.
The Texan played alongside Collin Morikawa and Lowry, who like McIlroy, overcame his first tee nerves and a brutal mid-round rain squall in his “defence” of the title he won in memorable fashion in 2019.
“I've fought with this round the golf in my head for a few weeks now, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy,” Lowry said of his nerves. “I was probably a little bit quiet this morning and not really myself. I'm happy that round of golf is over with, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Masters runner up Justin Rose, who was second at Royal Troon last year, matched Haotong by going bogey-free for a two-under 69 with McIlroy and Lowry tucked in just behind t alongside the likes of Jon Rahm and veterans Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
He played beautifully for most of the day and rolled in a 23 footer at the 17th for birdie to move into the red after battling through the toughest stretch of the course in heavy rain and wind.
“I think I played really well today,” said the Clara man, whose birdies at the second and sixth were cancelled out by bogeys at the ninth and 13th. “Any time you shoot one under par around Portrush in those conditions, I think it’s decent.
“Obviously days like today, you can really play your way out of a tournament. So it was nice to play my way in today.”
The birdies were important but he felt the 23 footer he holed for par at the 11th “huge”.
"I think there's going to be certain times in the tournament where that's going to happen, and you just need to put your head down and battle through it and see where it leaves you,”
While Collin Morikawa struggled to a 75 that left him tied with the likes of Pádraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, Scheffler was his usual methodical self and had only three footers for birdies at the treacherous 16th and 17th as he carded a five-birdie 68.
Rory McIlroy plays his second shot on the first hole during Day One of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
“Felt like I hit the ball nice off the tee, and really only had one swing I wasn't too happy with,” Scheffler said. “But outside of that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.”
The American was happy to play with Lowry, who was equally happy to get up early to watch Harrington hit the first tee shot and make an emotional birdie three en route to an otherwise forgettable 75.
The Dubliner (53) admitted he was surprised to feel so emotional after getting a rousing reception from the sellout crowd as he teed off at 6:35 am with Nicolai Hojgaard and Holywood’s Tom McKibbin, who briefly got to two-under but bogeyed the last for a 72.
“I hyped up the tee shot as much as I could, so that when I got there today, it didn't feel so bad,” Harrington said. “Obviously, I didn't try for too much. Hit a nice three iron down there, held the finish, posed a bit. I got a little emotional when I was clapped on.
“Then I calmed down and was kind of fine when I was hitting. Hitting that second three-iron into 15 or 18 feet, holing the putt was a serious buzz.”
He couldn’t recall welling up on the course before, though he joked he occasionally gets teary-eyed watching movies on planes.
“I wouldn't say I get too emotional, not like that, no,” he confessed. “It felt like they were there for me, giving me a clap. I expected the nerves; I didn't expect that. So I did have to adjust myself for that.”
Three three-putts and a lost ball at the 10th led to a 75 but he admitted that hitting the first tee shot was one of the most special moments of his career.
“Yeah, it was very special, I've got to say,” he said. “It's a great honour to do it, as I said. I really hate the idea of being ceremonial, but I was prepared to do it because it was here. I'm glad I did.”
As for McKibbin, the Holywood star dropped two shots on the first three holes and while he birdied the fifth, eagled the sixth and birdied the ninth to share the early lead, he came home in three-over.
“A little bit of everything in there, a little bit of a good, a little bit of bad,” McKibbin said. “Not great, but not bad.”
It was at least better than US Open champion JJ Spaun, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, who shot 73 or big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau, whose 78 was the highest opening round of his major career.
