Shane Lowry proud to bounce back from ‘lowest point’ of career at US Open

The Clara man arrived in Pinehurst at his lowest ebb after crashing to a career-worst 85 in the final round of the Memorial Tournament last Sunday.

After slipping to five-over through just 12 holes in the first round, he played his last 60 holes in one-under to claim more valuable FedEx Cup points.

The Clara man almost holed his approach to first, then followed a bogey at the second with birdies at the third and fourth to get back to three-over for the championship.

He described a double-bogey five at the ninth, where he rolled off the front of the green and his chip rolled into a bunker, as “a killer”.

But after dropping another shot at the 11th, he birdied the 13th and knocked in a 25-footer for another at the last to finish on four-over par.

“I got off to a great start today, nine was a killer,” Lowry said. “The wind was all over the place and I didn’t really commit to my tee shot. I probably should have hit it past the hole and taken my 20-footer for par. But I came back well. I was pretty happy how I did.

“Considering my opening nine holes of the tournament, I think the next 60 or whatever holes were pretty good.

“It’s looking like top 20, nice FedEx Cup points there which is pretty good. So I am happy. Looking forward to a couple of days off and looking forward to getting back at it in (the Travelers Championship) in Hartford.”

Lowry was proud of the way he fought back from Sunday’s disaster and a bad start to the US Open.

“To shoot 85, I mean to come out and play the golf I played this week I thought was pretty good and showed who I am and what I am about,” he said.

“Obviously, I would prefer to have been contending there, but if you look at the numbers, I’m not too far away, not a million miles away from the winning score or a top-5 this week score-wise.

“So there’s plenty of positives to take away, I putted unbelievable this week, as good as I have all year I think and I keep coming to these places and feel like I am comfortable playing these tournaments.

“I think I know what I have and know what I have to play with, and I know what my limitations are,” he added.

“I go out there and try my best day in, and day out; this week, it is going to be somewhere around the 20th; last week wasn’t very good, and hopefully, next week will be better.

“I was very low on Sunday. It was probably the lowest point of my career. When I got here on Sunday night, I mean straightaway after finishing, I got here. Luckily, my dad was here, Neil was here, and Brian was here already.

“I spent a lot of Monday hitting balls which is rare for me to hit that many balls and try and get ready for the tournament.

“But once Wednesday came, I felt like I was just back into just trying to play golf and trying to hit my shots. To be honest, I played those last six holes unbelievably well today.”

Lowry was not a fan of the set-up at Pinehurst No 2, but he gave the USGA the benefit of the doubt, pointing to the strong leaderboard.

“To be honest, the course is softer today,” he said. “I think they got scared. I think the course is definitely softer and the greens are a little bit slower than they were yesterday.

“I think they got a little bit scared that’s my reading situation. I know there is more cloud cover today than there was yesterday.

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know about this set up. They had pins where if you hit your putt three or four feet past, you are missing greens.”

Despite that he acknowledged the smattering of rounds in the sixties that were posted every day.

“We are the best golfers in the world but I don’t think many ten handicappers would enjoy themselves too much out there,” he said.

He’s looking forward to getting home to Ireland after the Travelers Championship and the build-up to The Open.

“Three weeks off then,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back to Ireland. I haven’t been home since Christmas. Wendy is there now. It’s not great fun but I get on with it. It’s my job.”

He had to leave for Connecticut as McIlroy battled for his first major win in ten years.

“Every week Rory tees up, I think he could win,” he said. “This week is no different. He is in great form. He has a lot of personal stuff going on but he is clearing his head a little bit there and it is going to be a benefit,

“I just texted him last night. I didn’t really see him. I don’t need to say much. You don’t need to say much to him. He’s going to go out and give it a shot today. I hope he does. It’d be great for him.”

As for McIlroy’s battle to compartmentalise golf and his personal life, Lowry said: “It’s hard. He’s a different animal or he’s mentally very strong, very tough.

“It is hard when you have stuff going on away from the golf course because we’re all humans at the end of the day.

“Stuff like that can be hard. Whether he’s mentally good or not, he’s just very good at golf and when he has his A-game, I think he’s unbeatable.”