Shane Lowry feeling the love at Mount Juliet as he plots weekend move

Sat, 03 Jul, 2021 - 06:00

Simon Lewis

Shane Lowry had missed the crowds when Covid-19 sent the PGA and European Tours behind closed gates last year. So the rousing reception he received as he walked up Mount Juliet’s 18th fairway yesterday evening was something for him to savour as he strode towards the birdie putt that would give him a fighting chance over the weekend at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

Lowry, 34, was not unique in missing the galleries when professional golf returned after the first lockdown but spectators were kept away. Life in the United States has returned to near-normality, and with it have returned the crowds, but this week’s Irish Open has been special in welcoming back crowds in limited number for the first time since 2019. Another 2,500 or so were on the grounds yesterday, and much like the opening day on Thursday, the majority of them followed Lowry and Pádraig Harrington in the group behind him in one half of the day and then Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in similar order in the opposite wave of players.