MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 10, 2025

Shane Lowry

Quick Quotes

Q. Shane, how happy are you with your opening day?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, yeah, it's funny, I felt on the front nine I wasn't playing great and then I turned in 2-under and felt like I played better on the back nine and didn't really get nothing out of it.

Then I was fuming walking off 17 green to be honest because I had worked so hard to stay under par and then when I hit my drive off 17, I was like, right where that pin it on 17 and where the pin is on 18 I knew there was going to be two chances on the way in if you could get your drive away.

It was just the sloppiest bogey of all time. But to birdie the last was nice and to shoot under par was nice.

I think Justin Rose went a bit crazy today, but this golf course is not giving anything. It's firm. I believe there might be a bit of rain overnight, but probably won't be much.

But yeah, this golf course is going to play tough over the next few days.

Q. Were you quite pleased when you came off 17 feeling that way to be able to birdie 18?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, but you have no choice but to -- 18th hole is a tough hole, so there's no choice but to stand up there and forget what you've done on the hole previous and just get on with it.

I did a good job of that and hit two good shots in there, and it was nice to roll the putt in, as well.

Q. Apart from that one on 17 --

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, that and I missed a short one early on on the 3rd. But I bounced back, birdied 4 straight away and then birdied 8 and 9.

Didn't feel great with my driver on the front nine and even 10, and then from 11 in I felt like I drove the ball great today.

Yeah, I'm pleased. Was it a great day? No. But it was certainly a round that could have got away from me. So it was nice to be under par.

Q. Wrist okay after that second shot on --

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it was more shock than anything. It did hurt. I thought of it before I hit it, but I didn't think anything of it. I didn't even see where the ball ended up. It was a great shot.

Yeah, it was more shock than anything. I was worried that -- I have had a little bit of wrist trouble, but old age trouble more than anything.

But yeah, I was a little bit worried. But it was okay.

Q. Have you a target in mind tomorrow?

SHANE LOWRY: No, you can't do anything around here. Just take one hole at a time and see what it gives you. I think patience is the key. Like you can be having an average day and you can go -- you can make a few birdies in the last few holes and it feels good.

But yeah, no, I don't think targets are -- like I feel major championships, somebody shoots a low score first round every time, no matter how hard the golf course is. The best players in the world are playing it, so if someone is going to get hot and shoot a good score -- be interested to see what the scoring does from here.

But this golf course, honestly, it's so firm and fast -- that 15th green, by Sunday I don't know what we're going to do to try and stop the ball on the green. It's very, very firm.

Q. Was it noticeably different to the practice in terms of how much --

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, obviously I played here Sunday evening. It was like it was Sunday evening. Then we got all that rain on Monday and obviously softened it up for Tuesday. When we played yesterday morning you could tell it was getting faster again.

Then yeah, it was fast today.