‘Stupidity’ proves so costly for Offaly ma

Shane Lowry cut a disconsolate figure at Pinehurst No 2 as he pored over the wreckage of a nightmare back nine that cost him a weekend place at the US Open.

Picking up from his first-round three-over-par 73, the Offaly man was one under for his second round yesterday in North Carolina as he reached the turn, sitting pretty with the projected cutline falling at five over par.

Then things went awry with a bogey at the par-four 11th and a double bogey at the par-four 16th sending him into dangerous waters that left him needing at least par to stay afloat on five over.

Lowry, who had won the US Open international qualifier a day after picking up the biggest pay cheque of his career with his second place at the BMW PGA Championship three weeks ago, could only three-putt the 18th, his par putt from six feet lipping out to give him a back-nine 39 for a second consecutive 73 that left him annoyed, frustrated and almost lost for words.

“I felt like I was playing well,” Lowry said. “I just made a few really, really bad errors. Hitting it left on [11], was it? Absolutely brain dead. There was the whole of America to the right, like, just stupidity really.”

This was Lowry’s second appearance at a US Open having cut a similar figure three years ago in the Congressional Country Club clubhouse when he missed the cut there. What made this all the more disappointing was the form he had been in and was still showing as he turned for home at Pinehurst, his iron play giving him every chance after back-to-back birdies at the par-four eighth and ninth.

If the bogey on 11 was bad, the double on 16 was a proverbial knockout blow, his tee shot finding the wire-grass scrub that has replaced the rough on Pinehurst No.2.

“I was two yards from being seven-iron into the green and [instead] up against a bush. Tried to play it out, probably should have chipped out. And then I hit almost two clubs too much for my third shot.

“The double on 16 is a nightmare. You can kind of deal with that but straight away, when you make a double, as you saw, it’s hard to come back from that.

“I just tried to hit it down the fairway, just tried to get it out but I probably should have just hit it out sideways, hit a five-iron onto the green. But it was a decent lie in the scrub, I had a good lie, just pitched it 25 yards further than I wanted to.

“I felt like I got unlucky then. If it’s a yard left in the bunker it’s fine, I probably would have got up and down, but it’s just sitting down in the scrub.

“I hit it about 20 yards ahead of me, but it was sitting fine and straight away from there you’re thinking, make five, par the last two and you’re okay.”

Except Lowry wasn’t and at six over par after two rounds it is not to be.

“I hit a great shot into 17. just pushed my tee shot on 18, into the sand, hit a great shot out of the sand [to green] and three putts. It is my own fault really. A bad three-putt on the last, personally think five over will sneak in. Bit annoying. Bit aggressive on a few shots and then not aggressive enough. I didn’t really… don’t know what to say.”

Now Lowry must regroup in time to show his supporters at home he has a more than decent chance of regaining the Irish Open title he first won as an amateur in 2009 when the tournament moves next week to Fota Island Resort in Cork.

“Just frustrating,” he said, “going to have to give myself a pick-up for next week.

“I’ll still go down [to Fota] on Monday evening. I’ve played plenty of practice rounds there, so still the same plan, it will just give a couple of extra days at home, unfortunately.

“But, I mean, it’s just annoying. I feel like I’m playing okay. I think my mistakes today were just purely errors by us, like.

“Listen, I’m just very disappointed, there’s not any more I can say.”

Lowry is not the only Irishman with some extra time on his hands ahead of their home Open. Darren Clarke also bowed out at Pinehurst yesterday, despite improving on his opening 75 with a two-over 72 that left him on seven over par.