Shane Lowry looks on the bright side at Irish Open following first-round one-under

Shane Lowry bore the brunt of the worst of the weather on the opening day of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and was happy simply not to have played his way out of contention following a first-round one-under 71.

The world number 35 was determined to see the glass half full as the afternoon starters enjoyed a mostly dry session, while he was among the early half of the draw at the K Club who caught heavy showers and the strongest winds in Kildare.

He may be trailing Masters champion Danny Willett by six shots going into today’s second round, as is Graeme McDowell, but Lowry said he would try and stay as positive as he was after the first two rounds of last week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, when he was contending for the lead with Jason Day only to fall away over the weekend, eventually settling for a tie for 16th.