Lowry looks to get his putter back in the groove as Power rues back nine fade 

Irish duo sit in the back half of the pack inside the cut projection through one round of the U.S. Open at The Country Club

Rocks star: Shane Lowry, of Ireland, hits on the 10th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. Pic: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Finishing a long, slow day in stiffer winds, Séamus Power carded 1-over 71 and Shane Lowry a 72 to sit in the back half of the pack inside the cut projection through one round of the U.S. Open at The Country Club.

Power made birdies on holes 5, 7 and 8 to make the turn at 2-under, just one shot off the morning lead set by Rory McIlroy and three others. But as the winds picked up his fortunes turned quickly on the back.

Consecutive bogeys at 10, 11 and 12 dropped the Waterford man to over par, and he nursed his way home from there with six pars to shoot 71. A few long birdie putts just skidded past the hole on 13, 15 and 17 and he caught a break hitting the pin on a treacherous pitch out of the rough to save par on 18.

“I’d say I scored what I deserved,” said Power, who is tied for 41st place. “I played nicely on the front and a couple of loose shots on the back and anything loose and you’re in trouble. It was good to hold on from there. … It was tough this afternoon with the wind and certainly you could should yourself out of the tournament, which I feel like I haven’t done. I didn’t quite play my best but I did hang in there.” 

His early nip at the heels of the leaders didn’t phase him.

“It’s so early it didn’t feel like much,” he said. “You just know with as great a course setup as this that the second you kind of think something like that it doesn’t take much missing the fairway by just a little bit and it’s a real struggle to make par.

Lowry, too, was in the red at the turn after a lone birdie on the par-5 eighth hole. But he made consecutive bogeys on the 122-yard 11th – where he hit into the front bunker and missed an 8-footer for par – and par-4 12th when his chip from the greenside rough went 13 feet past the hole.

On the par-3 16th, his tee ball went long and right and he missed a 4-footer to save par and slip to 2-over and his birdie chance on 18 dried up inches short to leave him tied 57th when he walked off the course.

He went straight from scoring to the putting green to work out what was bothering him after the round.

Both Irishmen will go out off the back side in the morning, when the temperatures are expected to be warmer but the winds consistently 10-20 mph. Lowry is trying to extend his hold on the longest active streak of 12 consecutive made cuts in majors