'What Shane's doing is amazing' — McIlroy left spluttering in Lowry's exhaust fumes after a poor day on the greens
Shane Lowry shot a course record eighth under par 62. Picture: Getty Images
There are a few things you hate to see if you're a sportsman at the top level.
Ayrton Senna in your mirrors on a wet day at Estoril; Joey Dunlop's yellow helmet with its distinctive black stripe at any stage during a TT; John Treacy's relentlessness on a muddy cross-country track in the rain; and Shane Lowry nine shots ahead of you heading into a bad-weather weekend on a links golf course.
The Offaly man's eight-under 62 in the second round of the Amgen Irish Open does not guarantee he'll notch his first individual win for more than four years.
But it does leave Rory McIlroy needing something outstanding in pouring rain and 40mph southwest gusts at Doonbeg in round three after he completely lost his feel on the greens.
A three-putt bogey from around six feet at the 18th meant he signed for a second successive 69. More concerning was the fact that he could not read the tricky Doonbeg greens for love nor money and missed nine putts inside 12 feet.
While his Holywood clubman Tom McKibbin is 'just' six strokes behind Lowry after rounds of 68 and 67, McIlroy knows that he's chasing a man who relishes tough days on a links, even if he'd rather play in shirtsleeves.
"He believes he's a good player in windy links conditions, so I think that's half the battle, believing that you are or knowing that you are," McIlroy said of Lowry's talent for tacking his way along the coast in a storm.
"I think he feels like he has an advantage when the conditions are like that. That's the way he sees the game. He sees the game with that flight. He doesn't really hit the ball up in the air that often.
"He usually flights it a lot, even when it's in calmer conditions. So I just think this type of golf is just the way he likes to see the game, and it gives him that little bit of extra belief that he can handle it better than most.
"It's amazing what he's doing. What he did in Portrush a few years ago [in The Open] and obviously, winning this tournament back in '09 as an amateur. He knows how to handle all this stuff. And I think anytime you have the crowd on your side, it's a big positive."
Lowry might not have had the easiest of seasons, but he remains a world-class performer.
"He's a tremendous golfer," McKibbin said. "I've been very lucky to play with him many times now, and I think people maybe don't see how good of a ball striker he is.
"I definitely didn't know that until the first time I ever played with him, how well he strikes the ball, glides the ball in the wind, and obviously the short game is phenomenal."
As for his own game, McIlroy felt he struck the ball well from tee to green but just couldn't get the ball in the hole, taking 31 putts.
"I just couldn't really get anything going on the greens," he said after a round where a cut up 270-yard three-wood to three feet at the eighth, setting up an eagle, was the obvious highlight.
"I've struggled to read them all week, basically.. It's a reading issue, not a stroke issue. I'm starting them on my lines... It's just getting the right read and then trusting it.
"What I'm seeing when I'm reading them, and then what's actually happening when I'm hitting the putt are two different things."
As for McKibbin, his putting has improved by leaps and bounds since he started working with Stephen Sweeney, who also serves as Lowry's putting coach.
"We've just been focussing a lot on green reading," he said after a round featuring five birdies as well as biggies at the short seventh and 14th holes.
"I felt like I struggled with that a little bit before, and I've definitely started to see the putts a little bit better."
He's clearly moved his game to the next level and believes he now has the game to overcome the inevitable mistake, especially at a course like Doonbeg,
"Yesterday you could have a big number literally at any point of the round, and today you sort of knew that the holes that were gettable and other holes were kind of tricky, but not as stressful," he said after getting up and down for par at the last.
"I feel like the last month or so, even if a round hasn't been going great, I've always sort of seemed to steady a little bit or finish strong.
"I definitely strive to get better and be a top player in the world. And I feel like my game at the minute is definitely getting better and stronger, year by year."
He was just six strokes adrift of Lowry at the finish and looking forward to contending in an Irish Open for the first time.
"It's exciting," he said. "I've never really had a chance in the last couple I've played, so to go into the weekend there and thereabouts will certainly be fun."
High winds and rain are forecast for round three, and those conditions hold no fear for Galway's Liam Nolan, who completed an opening 72 before shooting a fine 68 in the afternoon to make the one-over cut with a shot to spare on his Irish Open debut.
A HotelPlanner Tour regular, Nolan (26) turned down an Irish Open invitation in his rookie year last season but felt more comfortable about accepting one this season as he has more experience.
He was one-under par with three holes of his weather-interrupted first round to play, but while he triple-bogeyed the par-three 16th, where he took three chips to get on the green after misjudging a steep bank, he bounced back in the afternoon with four birdies and two bogeys.
"Just one bad hole and a lot of good stuff," Nolan said of a day that became a little more tense when he three-putted the 13th to find himself sitting close to the cut line.
"The putter felt a bit heavier after that, but I was able to steady myself and just realise that it's an amazing experience and just to enjoy it no matter what happens if the putts drop or if they don't.
"I actually just started smiling before every putt, and just saying, look, you know, you're so fortunate to have the opportunity to play an Irish Open here in the west of Ireland. After that, the putter felt lovely."
While he has a chance now to make a decent cheque, that's not his priority. He has one eye on the future.
"It's just getting the experience," he said. "One day I hope to be here [on the DP World Tour], and I hope to play in 20 of these:
"There's rough weather coming in. Proper west of Ireland stuff. I've played many's the 'West', so that'll stand to me."
Max Kennedy and an out-of-sorts Seamus Power shot 71s to finish on four-over par, while the Irish PGA champion, Cormac Sharvin, was a shot further back after a second-round 72.
He was tied with 23-year-old Roscommon rookie Thomas Higgins, who made an encouraging five birdies as he followed a 74 with a 71 on his professional debut.
Veteran Pádraig Harrington had a tough day on the greens, taking 34 putts in a 77, which included a triple bogey seven after he drove out of bounds at the last.
He finished eight over alongside Tyrrell Hatton, while Kilkenny's Mark Power will refocus now on the HotelPlanner Tour after a second-round 76 left him 10-over.
Rd 3 tee times
10:07 Ritchie, Chacarra, Straka
10:18 Hidalgo, Vaillant, Laporta
10:29 Veerman, Larrazabal, Molinari
10:40 Koepka, Van Driel, Morrison
10:51 Micheluzzi, Norris, Winther
11:07 Girrbach, Del Rey, Nolan
11:18 Wallace, Garcia, Donald
11:29 Hall, Lindeli, Mazzoli
11:40 Stone, Bairstow, Manassero
11:51 Senior, De Leo, Crocker
12:07 Lemke, Söderberg, Fitzpatrick
12:18 Dean, Du Plessis, Bryant
12:29 Cabrera Bello, Mansell, Capan
12:40 Coussaud, Hillier, Wiesberger
12:51 Rodrigues, Syme, Steinlechner
13:08 Meronk, Langasque, McIlroy
13:19 Waring, Kimsey, Paratore
13:30 Law, Fisher, Rahm
13:41 MacIntyre, Hill, Dantorp
13:57 Neergaard-Petersen, Reed, Sullivan
14:08 Niemann, Højgaard, McKibbin
14:19 Kobori, Ferguson, Nørgaard
14:30 Olesen, Li, Lowry
After 36 holes
129 Shane Lowry (Irl) 67 62;
132 Haotong Li (Chn) 69 63, Jacob Skov Olesen (Den) 68 64, Niklas Nørgaard (Den) 68 64;
135 Ewen Ferguson (Sco) 69 66, Kazuma Kobori (Nzl) 68 67, Tom McKibbin (NIr) 68 67, Rasmus Højgaard (Den) 72 63, Joaquin Niemann (Chi) 65 70;
136 Andy Sullivan (Eng) 69 67, Patrick Reed (USA) 68 68, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Den) 69 67, Jens Dantorp (Swe) 69 67;
137 Calum Hill (Sco) 70 67, Robert MacIntyre (Sco) 72 65, Jon Rahm (Esp) 70 67, Ross Fisher (Eng) 70 67, David Law (Sco) 68 69, Renato Paratore (Ita) 68 69;
138 Nathan Kimsey (Eng) 71 67, Paul Waring (Eng) 70 68, Rory McIlroy (NIr) 69 69, Romain Langasque (Fra) 68 70, Adrian Meronk (Pol) 68 70, Maximilian Steinlechner (Aut) 66 72, Connor Syme (Sco) 68 70, Daniel Rodrigues (Por) 69 69, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 71 67, Daniel Hillier (Nzl) 69 69, Ugo Coussaud (Fra) 72 66, Frankie Capan III (USA) 71 67;
139 Richard Mansell (Eng) 76 63, Rafa Cabrera Bello (Esp) 68 71, Davis Bryant (USA) 74 65, Hennie Du Plessis (Rsa) 74 65, Joe Dean (Eng) 69 70, Alex Fitzpatrick (Eng) 69 70, Sebastian Söderberg (Swe) 75 64, Niklas Lemke (Swe) 71 68, Sean Crocker (USA) 73 66, Gregorio De Leo (Ita) 74 65, Jack Senior (Eng) 72 67, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 74 65, Sam Bairstow (Eng) 69 70, Brandon Stone (Rsa) 69 70, Stefano Mazzoli (Ita) 75 64;
140 Oliver Lindell (Fin) 70 70, Harry Hall (Eng) 70 70, Luke Donald (Eng) 73 67, Sergio Garcia (Esp) 75 65, Matt Wallace (Eng) 73 67, Liam Nolan (Irl) 72 68, Alejandro Del Rey (Esp) 70 70, Joel Girrbach (Sui) 69 71, Jeff Winther (Den) 70 70, Shaun Norris (Rsa) 67 73, David Micheluzzi (Aus) 71 69, James Morrison (Eng) 71 69;
141 Darius Van Driel (Ned) 71 70, Brooks Koepka (USA) 75 66, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 72 69, Pablo Larrazábal (Esp) 71 70, Johannes Veerman (USA) 72 69, Francesco Laporta (Ita) 70 71, Tom Vaillant (Fra) 69 72, Angel Hidalgo (Esp) 75 66, Sepp Straka (Aut) 71 70, Eugenio Chacarra (Esp) 72 69, JC Ritchie (Rsa) 69 72.
Missed cut
142 Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn) 74 68, Nacho Elvira (Esp) 72 70, Angel Ayora (Esp) 73 69, Laurie Canter (Eng) 74 68, Thomas Detry (Bel) 74 68, Oihan Guillamoundeugy (Fra) 73 69, Zander Lombard (Rsa) 74 68, Todd Clements (Eng) 70 72, K.H. Lee (Kor) 73 69, David Puig (Esp) 71 71, Jayden Schaper (Rsa) 70 72, Manuel Elvira (Esp) 75 67, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 72 70, Marcus Helligkilde (Den) 72 70;
143 Julien Guerrier (Fra) 75 68, Yuto Katsurakawa (Jpn) 74 69, David Ravetto (Fra) 71 72, Ricardo Gouveia (Por) 73 70, Michael Hollick (Rsa) 75 68, Nicolai Højgaard (Den) 69 74, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa) 72 71, Antoine Rozner (Fra) 78 65, Thorbjørn Olesen (Den) 72 71, Mikael Lindberg (Swe) 71 72, Yurav Premall (Rsa) 73 70;
144 Marcus Armitage (Eng) 76 68, Max Kennedy (Irl) 73 71, Matthew Jordan (Eng) 75 69, Dan Bradbury (Eng) 72 72, Jason Scrivener (Aus) 73 71, Adrian Otaegui (UAE) 76 68, Seamus Power (Irl) 73 71, Grant Forrest (Sco) 72 72, Guido Migliozzi (Ita) 74 70;
145 Yanhan Zhou (Chn) 75 70, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 74 71, Junghwan Lee (Kor) 74 71, Cormac Sharvin (NIr) 73 72, Brandon Robinson Thompson (Eng) 75 70, Erik Van Rooyen (Rsa) 73 72, Thomas Higgins (Irl) 74 71, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 75 70, Ashun Wu (Chn) 79 66;
146 Martin Couvra (Fra) 78 68, Jordan Gumberg (USA) 77 69, Jeong weon Ko (Fra) 76 70, Jacques Kruyswijk (Rsa) 79 67, Scott Jamieson (Sco) 75 71, Kota Kaneko (Jpn) 69 77, Ryggs Johnston (USA) 73 73, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 72;
147 Jorge Campillo (Esp) 71 76;
148 Daniel Gavins (Eng) 75 73, Casey Jarvis (Rsa) 72 76, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 71 77, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) 78 70;
149 Ben Schmidt (Eng) 76 73, Jordan Smith (Eng) 73 76, John Catlin (USA) 75 74, Ivan Cantero (Esp) 78 71;
150 Dylan Naidoo (Rsa) 78 72, Mark Power (Irl) 74 76;
151 Freddy Schott (Ger) 78 73, Nicolai Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 81 70;
152 Wenyi Ding (Chn) 73 79;
WD Danny Willett (Eng) 78 WD, Joost Luiten (Ned) 76 WD;
RT Frederic Lacroix (Fra) 68 RT; Marcel Schneider (Ger) RT.
