THE 153RD OPEN

July 17, 2025

Shane Lowry

Mixed Zone

Q. Shane, you were going around the country the last fortnight playing in some beautiful conditions. Then you probably got the worst of it today. How difficult was today's test?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it was hard. I watched a bit of golf early this morning, and I could see how even firm the golf course had gotten in the last day. Yeah, I've played a lot of golf around the country, as you said, the last few weeks and the weather's been perfect, then you go today.

I think I adapted pretty well. I think I played very well today. I was really happy with my day. Probably one or two shots, but any time you shoot 1-under par around Portrush in those conditions, I think is decent.

Q. Putting was good, and then holing that nasty one on the last. Not a bonus, but it would have been a bit of a sin not to hole it.

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I wasn't expecting to miss it. It was nice to hole that one on 17. I thought my second shot on the last was actually better. To come up and see myself with a 60-footer, I was a bit disappointed. Yeah, it was nice to two-putt that and get in.

Obviously days like today, you can really play your way out of a tournament. So it was nice to play my way into it today.

Q. What about the rest of your game?

SHANE LOWRY: Everything is great. I'm happy. I've fought with this round of golf in my head for a few weeks now. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. The 1st tee shot wasn't that easy. I wasn't feeling very comfortable there. I felt like I managed to handle myself very well.

All day I felt like I handled myself really well. Crowds were amazing. Everything about this tournament has just been great. I tried to kind of use that as motivation instead of sometimes you can put a bit too much pressure on yourself. I tried to use it in a different way today, and I felt like I did a good job with that.

Q. It's mentally and physically draining. Is it just get some food and rest up for the evening and get ready for your tee time tomorrow?

SHANE LOWRY: Go home, watch some golf, have some dinner and chill out tomorrow morning, come out here and try to do the same thing.

We're going to get challenging conditions over the next few days. Like today, for example, the 11th hole was like the worst hole to get the weather we got in. We all really struggled, and I fortunately made a great putt for par. I think there's going to be certain times in the tournament where that's going to happen, and you just need to kind of put your head down and battle through it and see where it leaves you.

Q. A few tough pins on the greens. Was it fair?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it was fair, but very tough pins, yeah, like on slopes, but not too unfair. Yeah, there were, if you miss them on the wrong side, you're in big trouble today. Fortunately, I didn't do that too much.

Q. You got a great reception up 18, and I'm sure with full stands it must have brought back happy memories?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I wasn't expecting 18 to be full with Rory out on the course. The grandstand was full. Nice reception walking down 18. It was pretty cool. Actually, like you said, there's an extra little bit of pressure on that 5-footer. It would have been disappointing to miss that.

Yeah, look, like I said, the crowd have been amazing all week. I won the last time here, and I'm trying to use it to my advantage.

Q. Anything out there is gold considering the conditions?

SHANE LOWRY: I think so. Obviously you see some lads getting off to good starts, and obviously there's a couple of good scores, but 4-under is a really good score. I think anything under par is pretty good today.

Q. Shane, were you always going to hit driver, or wait until you were on the tee to see the wind?

SHANE LOWRY: I knew the way the wind was going to be. That's why I had my 3-iron. There was no chance I was hitting my 4-wood. I wanted to keep something down out of the wind.

To be honest, I watched a lot of golf this morning. You see Paddy hit a good tee shot and he had 2-iron in. So I was like biggest head in the bag, give it a rip. Thankfully it went straight.

Q. The rounds were over five hours, but you managed to keep a good rhythm going. Is it comfortable when you're with someone like Scottie, are you talking quite a lot?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, we had a good day out there. I feel like he's a nice person to be around and obviously a great player. It's unbelievable how well he manages his way around the golf course and the scores he shoots. It's just incredible what he does with the ball.

Even when you look at him and it looks like he's hitting a bad shot, it doesn't go in a bad spot.

Yeah, it was a nice day out there. Obviously Collin didn't have his best stuff, but it was nice.

Q. How many cloths did you have in your bag?

SHANE LOWRY: I had a good few. Darren will sleep well tonight. It was a lot -- because it was cold and then it got warm and then it got wet. I had three with me.

Q. Which birdie -- which putt felt bigger, the 11 or 17?

SHANE LOWRY: 11 was huge to keep momentum going around. Obviously 13 was a bit disappointing. I played the wind wrong with my tee shot and made a bad bogey there.

Yeah, 11 was huge. To hole putts like that for par is big. Standing on the tee, you're praying for a par. That's all you're trying to do. It's nearly playing like a par-5. So, yeah, that was pretty big.

Q. Shane, you said the last time out was probably the most nervous you've been on the 1st tee. Were you more nervous this time?

SHANE LOWRY: That was up there as well. I would put that up there with 1st tee at the Ryder Cup. I was fighting with that all morning this morning. It's going to be all right for the rest of the week. I just wanted to get my tournament under way.

I want so much -- obviously I want so much to do well in this tournament. I want so much to give myself a chance on Sunday. You can't do that without hitting a good 1st tee shot. I knew I needed to do that. We all know the dangers that 1st hole can throw at you, so I was happy to get under way.

Q. What did you do to prepare the first few hours before that tee shot?

SHANE LOWRY: It was more last night -- like I said to Neil last night, we went for a little walk, once I get up and get moving and get going, your routine kicks in. You don't even think about it. You move at certain times and eat and have whatever at certain times.

I get up this morning, got up a half hour early, wanted to see Paddy hit the 1st tee shot. I was very happy for him that it went straight. I'm sure he was fighting with that for a few days as well. Had a coffee and watched that.

Then, yeah, just got going after that. Once you drive to the course, honestly routine just kicks in. But I'd say the boys will tell you I was probably a little bit quiet this morning. I'm not really myself. I'm happy that round of golf is over with, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.

Q. You mentioned the guys who got to 4-under. Even on a Thursday, have you had a look at the leaderboard to see what's a good score?

SHANE LOWRY: I look to see what's happening, but not really -- yeah, kind of see what a good score is. You can see pretty quickly level par or 1-under, once you're around that, it's not bad. Then obviously you see like who's playing well or whatever. It's nice to see Westy up there, Matt Fitzpatrick playing well. Just things like that.

Like I said, you're out there for nearly six hours. You're passing time really, standing around watching scoreboards, seeing what's going on.