They say happiness in golf is a long walk with a putter and Shane Lowry certainly won’t disagree after producing one of the great putting rounds of his career to become the fourth man _ and the first European — to shoot 62 in a men’s major championship.
The Clara man had a 12-footer for his tenth birdie of the day at the par-five 18th for the first 61 in over 145,000 rounds in men’s major golf
But while it missed left — failing to match Leona Maguire’s 61 in the 2021 Evian Championship— he still produced thoroughbred display just 20 miles from the home of the Kentucky Derby, brandishing the new putter he put in the bag just three weeks ago and used to such good effect when winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Rory McIlroy.
The Clara man (37) was eight shots off the lead overnight, but felt he just had to tighten up his long game and eliminate a “wipey cut” with the driver to make the proverbial moving day move, so well was he rolling the ball on the greens.
As early as Monday here, Lowry felt he was just a few putts away from contending for another Major, having worked hard recently with his Florida-based putting coach, Donegal man Stephen Sweeney
“I honestly feel like if the putts that are just missing start going in, you never know,” he said, explaining that he was finally rolling the ball at the hole and it was just a matter of time before they started to drop.
“They’re starting to lip in lads!” he joked after getting a few breaks in Thursday’s 69 — a score he reproduced on Friday to go into the weekend tied for 29t
The last time an Irishman was outside the top 25 heading into the weekend at a major and entered Sunday inside the top five was in 2008 when Padraig Harrington won his third Major and the Wanamaker Trophy at Oakland Hills in Detroit.
True to his word on Friday evening, Lowry produced his best ball-striking performance of the week last night. But while he didn’t always hit the ball close, he made 160 feet of putts (having made 110 feet on Thursday and 120 feet on Friday) in an astonishing display. Most of them went straight in the front door.
After rolling in putts from 14ft, 13ft, 19ft and 7ft for four birdies in a row from the second, the Offaly man’s first test came at the tough, 503-yard sixth, where he found the bunker left of the green
