Irish golfers battle through first major in 13 months

Shane Lowry hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the US PGA Championship   at TPC Harding Park.Picture: Charlie Riedel/AP

The Irish challenge at the 102nd PGA Championship got off to a battling start as majors golf returned to the sporting calendar for the first time in 13 months on Thursday.

It had been 382 days since Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug as Open champion, bringing an end to the 2019 major championship season, and few could have imagined there would be so long a wait for the next shot to be struck in the sport’s most important tournaments.