Sparkling 65 fires Hansen clear
Peter Lawrie leads the Irish challenge on 67 followed by Rory McIlroy, 69, and Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley, both 70. Michael Hoey finished on 73, Gareth Maybin, Darren Clarke and Damien McGrane, 74; Gary Murphy 75, and debutant Shane Lowry, 78.
Lawrie’s 67 around a water-laden course measuring more than 7,200 yards is no mean feat and contained six birdies and just one bogey. He began at the 10th and covered his outward journey in a blemish-less 33, describing his birdie at the 18th, where he hit a six iron just off the green and holed the putt from 20 feet, as the highlight.
McIlroy’s 69 coming on the heels of 5th place in the BMW PGA at the weekend confirmed that his game is in tip-top order. True, he did bogey the par three 17th after a poor tee-shot and had to knock in a 30-footer on the 18th for par but his ball striking for the most part was quite exemplary. The 20-year-old tied for 10th here last year and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t at least improve on that this week.
“I seem to do well around long golf courses,” he noted.
“The drives suit my eye and it’s just a question of putting it on the green from there and holing a few putts.
“I felt really good at Wentworth over the weekend and wanted to keep that momentum going. I drove it really well, hit a lot of good iron shots, so it’s all coming together again nicely”.
Given McIlroy’s friendship with Shane Lowry, it was inevitable that he would be asked about the Irish Open champion’s disappointing 78. He spoke of the expectation weighing on Lowry’s shoulders but claimed that “Shane won’t care. He’s got a two-year exemption, sure, 78 is 78, but if he can come out tomorrow and shoot 66, he’ll make the cut and he’s well capable of doing it.” As for Lowry’s distaste for spending too much time on the range, McIlroy was equally positive: “He’s very similar to me. I was reading last night how he said that if he had time to spare, he’d go and play nine holes rather than practice and that’s the way I am. I get bored practising and I’m sure he does, too. We’re both very natural players and while there are times when you have to work on your technique, golf at the end of the day is not played on a driving range, it’s played on the golf course.”
Paul McGinley, in a funny kind of way, was wearing two hats yesterday, concentrating on his own game while also trying to settle down his young playing partner Shane Lowry. He certainly succeeded in the former, pointing out that “two under 70 was good after being two over after four. Consistency that has been the mainstay of my career isn’t there. I dropped three silly shots today but hit a lot of good iron shots, a lovely four iron into 17 for a two and my approach to the last was all over the pin so if I can get my confidence back and shoot in the 60s in the morning, that’s what I’ll be looking for”.
The highlight of Graeme McDowell’s 70 was an eagle at the 5th where he hit a drive and hybrid club to four feet.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
