Shane Lowry broke the course record and raced to the top of the leaderboard on home soil at the Amgen Irish Open after Rory McIlroy felt “frustrated” in his performance.
Lowry mixed nine birdies with a lone bogey during a superb eight-under 62 at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, moving him to 11 under and three shots clear of the rest of the morning’s start.
The former Open champion’s closest challenge from half the field came from Haotong Li and Jacob Skov Olesen, who posted rounds of 63 and 64 respectively to move to eight under, with Tom McKibbin among those six shots back.
Patrick Reed heads into the weekend at four under, with Jon Rahm and Robert MacIntyre another shot away, with Rory McIlroy nine in half off the lead after battling the greens during his second straight 69.
Round one leader Joaquin Niemann and England’s Tyrrell Hatton were among the later starters.
As Lowry stepped forward on home soil
Lowry, who won the tournament in 2009 as a 22-year-old amateur, was playing in the group behind McIlroy and saw the crowd grow for him after a run of three birdies from the third.
He holed a long-range putt on the seventh and picked up more shots over the next two holes to race to the turn in 30, then added back-to-back birdies from the 11th to narrowly edge Lowry to ’59 watch’.
Lowry played alongside Patrick Reed (left) and Jon Rahm
Lowry’s hopes of a sub-60 round suffered a setback with a three-putt bogey from 20 feet at the 13th, though he bounced back by bogeying the 15th and closing out his record round with three straight pars.
“It was really fun out there,” Lowry said. “I got off to a good start and then I just kept going. I felt good out there. I just kept my foot on the gas and tried to keep hitting good shots and making long shots.”
Work to be done for McIlroy after ‘disappointment’ set in
McIlroy birdied the second green but failed to capitalize on numerous chances on his front nine, with the world No 2 failing to get up and down the sand and missing a close putt to parry at the seventh.
The Masters champion responded with a sensational eagle at the par-five eighth, shooting his approach close, only to card a sloppy birdie at the 11th and cancel out a long-range birdie at the 17th with a disappointing three-putt at the end.
McIlroy is back as the defending champion this week
“Frustration,” was McIlroy’s assessment of his second round. “I just didn’t have it on the greens. I really tried to read them. It’s hard every time you try to read them.
“It’s been a tough match on the greens the last couple of days, but off the green I’ve actually been pretty happy with everything else. I’ve just got to try and make a few more over the weekend.”
MacIntyre carded a 65 to stay on three under, but five-time major champion Koepka – who followed his opening round of 75 with a 66 – was in danger of missing the mark at one over.
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