Rory McIlroy’s out.
Shane Lowry’s in at the 148th Open Championship.
The hopes of Northern Ireland faded Friday afternoon when Rory McIlroy’s attempt at a miracle comeback fell a shot short of the 36-hole cut.
Sad, yes, but there’s always Shane.
Shane as in Shane Lowry, the man from the south, the man who now has a share of the 36-hole lead with J.B. Holmes.
Lowry played in the afternoon when the conditions got a bit rougher. Didn’t bother him as he was hot early with five-front nine birdies that got him to nine-under and in the solo lead with nine to play.
A birdie at the 10th got him to 10-under but his birdies ran out. He’d make two bogeys coming home and his 67 left him at eight-under and a Saturday date with Holmes in the final pairing.
“You start thinking about it [winning The Open] when people start asking you about it,” said Lowry.
“Look, I’m obviously going to be thinking about it tonight,” the bearded Irishman said after his round. “There’s no point in shying away from it. I’m in a great position. But, my God, have we got a long way to go. There’s two rounds of golf on this golf course against the best field in the world.
“The one thing I have to do is go out, I keep saying the same thing all the time – I’ve been doing great, I shot 67 but I need to go out and shoot the best score I can tomorrow. Hopefully it leaves me in a decent position on into Sunday,” Lowry said.
“If I give myself a chance to do something very special here on Sunday, no matter what happens it will be a great week. Hopefully I can go out tomorrow and shoot a decent one but if I don’t, it won’t be the end of the world. That’s where I’m at mentally. I’ll still be getting on an airplane Monday to go to Memphis (for WGC event), regardless of what happens Sunday.”
I really don’t think I’ve played under crowds like this before,” Lowry admitted. “It was incredible right from the first hole. And even the crowd didn’t seem that big around the third green, but the roar at the putt was unbelievable. When I holed that putt on 10, that long one on 10, it was just incredible. You can’t but smile, you can’t but laugh how it is. There’s no point trying to shy away from it. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Now that McIlroy has missed the cut, the crowds will be vocal in their support for Lowry.
“It’s an incredible feeling getting applauded on every green, every tee box. I’m out there giving my best, trying to do my best for everyone,” he said.”
With Rory out, Shane’s in and the crowds are with him.
No matter what.
