Shane Lowry doesn’t know what lies in store for him at Royal Troon but he insists he feels as good as he did before he claimed his first major win at Royal Portrush five years ago.
After winning on the PGA Tour with Rory McIlroy as his partner, the Clara man arrives on the Ayrshire coast in a very different mood to 2016, when he was still reeling after losing a four-shot lead in the final round of that year’s US Open at Oakmont.
“Look, I played the Scottish Open last year, I played quite well and then I came to The Open and whatever happened, I didn’t perform,” said the Offaly man, who has had three weeks off to recharge for another crack at the Claret Jug. “I felt like the best thing to do this year to get ready for this week was to not play last week and get ready at home. So, that’s what I have done. I will tell you on Sunday evening whether it has paid off or not. Yes, I’ll prepare as best I can like any other week and give it the best when it comes to it.”
The Open will forever remain special for Lowry and he admits he feels an extra frisson of excitement when he turns up for golf’s original major.
“You drive in here and you see the Claret Jug when you are registering and the history with it and the golf course and the magnitude of it is just big,” he said. “I think it is the biggest tournament in the world and it certainly feels like that when you are here and it feels like that when you are preparing. “You get a little bit uptight in weeks like this and I try and stay as cool and as calm as I can but ultimately I want to play the best golf I can this week. “At certain stages throughout the week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there are times when you are anxious and a little bit nervy about things, but once I get onto the first tee on Thursday and hit my tee shot, I am sure I will be okay and I will go out and do my best.”
It helps to come into the event playing well and Lowry is playing some of the best golf of his career having added a four top 10s to his PGA Tour win alongside McIlroy in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.
“It has been good,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, it is my best season on the PGA Tour, so far. I think golf is a funny game, isn’t it? In the last two months I have shot two 62s and an 85; it is just funny. “I feel like that is just golf and I feel like if you are to sum it up, that’s what it is just like. You never take anything for granted — the good times don’t last forever and the bad times don’t last forever. “You just have to get on with it when you can and ride the wave when you are playing well.
“I am pretty happy at where my game is at and pretty happy with what I have been doing this season and obviously it doesn’t matter what has happened over the last six months, it is all about this week now and for me it is about going out there. “I am finished practice today, and I am going to go back and chill out for the afternoon and get out here tomorrow and do some practice, and hopefully, I can go into Thursday feeling good about myself and give it a good run.”
Lowry sees Royal Troon as a formidable test but just as in 2019, he’s buoyed by some excellent form and renewed confidence on the greens.
“I feel like I have turned a corner on the greens since even the Zurich Classic even though we won, I didn’t feel overly comfortable that week,” he said. “The week after that I felt like I turned a corner on the greens and I’m feeling pretty confident with the flat stick. “I always say when I come to these tournaments that if I hole some putts I can be dangerous so fingers crossed.”
McIlroy struggled with slow greens in the Scottish Open last week but Lowry feels ready to deal with the challenge.
“I’ve been home for a few weeks now and putting on greens like this so it’s the one thing when we came here two weeks ago, it was my first golf this side of America and I was happy with how easy I was getting the ball to the hole,” he said.
“Normally I struggle on slow greens when I come back from the States, maybe it’s the new putter I’m using.”
Lowry normally plays links golf in the run up to The Open but he was happy to play a few friendly games with pals at Hogs Head in Co Kerry instead and recharge his batteries.
“I was going to go over to Waterville but it was quite busy,” he said. “The weather was great but it was like a 15 mile an hour wind. It was perfect. Exactly what I needed.”
