‘I’m hoping it clicks next week’ – US Open boost for Lowry as he holes out twice for eagle twos at Jack’s place

The Offaly man (37) admitted he wasn’t even aiming at the flag when he holed a seven-iron from 194 yards from the first cut for an eagle two at the first, then birdied the second and fourth before making a greenside bunker shot for birdie at the seventh to go five-under.

He double-bogeyed the eighth after plugging his ball under the lip of a bunker and dropped another shot at the 12th.

But after a pep talk from his caddie Darren Reynolds reminded him not to be so aggressive and that pars were good. he finished well, screwing a 119-yard gap wedge into the hole for another eagle two at the 14th before following a birdie at the 15th with a dropped shot at the 17th.

It all added up to a four-under 68, and after being five-over for the tournament with nine holes of his second round remaining and in danger of missing the cut, he was thrilled to play his last 27 holes in six-under to move into the top 20 on one-under.

“It is (a boost to my confidence) because I’ve been struggling this week and I was very proud of myself to come back and make the cut yesterday,” said Lowry, who reckons he’s holed seven full shots this year.

“I was five over for the tournament with a 20 to 25-mile-an-hour wind blowing out there. I had probably resigned myself to the fact that I might miss the cut.

“In my head, I was thinking, I’ll get rested and get to practice at Pinehurst early and that you may have freed me up on the back nine.

“I played great on the back nine yesterday. To shoot two under, make the cut and then get out here this morning and shoot a good score, I definitely gave myself a lot of confidence.”

As for his magical start, he admitted he had a stroke of good fortune on the first.

“I pulled it, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I was trying to hit up the right side of the green and pulled it straight at the flag and it got a nice bounce and it went in

“The one on the 14th, when I drew it up, that’s exactly how I envisioned it, pitching left of the hole with a bit of a left-to-right spin, a little cut, pitching and spinning back down towards the hole, and obviously I’ve got it on the good line, and it went in.

“The first was really fortunate, but the 14th was really good.”

Lowry has made several approach shots this year, holing out for an eagle two in the American Express before making an albatross two on the sixth at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open.

“It was an emotional day,” he said after another battle with Muirfield Village. “This course! I holed two full shots and a bunker shot as well.

“I’ve holed out quite a few times this year so far – probably holed six or seven shots this year, full shots. I don’t know what it is. I get lucky.”

Luck has little to do with it and Lowry told Sky Sports Golf he’s worked hard to become one the best iron players on the PGA Tour.

But when it comes to closing the gap on Scottie Scheffler, he knows he needs to become more consistent on the greens

“Scottie is putting himself out there as a generational talent” Lowry explained. “I’ve played with him a couple of times this year, including the final round at Bay Hill, where he won, and he’s not ridiculously impressive

“But he just hits the ball exactly where you’re supposed to and he does the right things.

“I think the big thing for Scottie is his bad golf is really good. And when he hits a bad shot, he generally leaves it in a place where he’s going to make a par. He makes very few bogeys.

“What do I need to do to catch up to someone like that? I feel like a lot of my game is pretty good. I feel like I drive the ball pretty good and my iron play is up there with some of the top players in the world.

“So I know when I rock up at tournaments, if I hole a few putts, I can do well that week.

“So, for me, it’s just trying to become a more consistent putter. I’m working as hard as I can and as hard as I ever have on what I feel are the right things, and hopefully, it clicks a couple of times a year.

“I’m hoping it clicks next week.”