Smylie Kaufman has revealed what Shane Lowry’s manager told him in the days before The Open Championship, with the Irishman putting himself right in the mix after the first round at Royal Troon.
Shane Lowry began Friday in second spot after an opening round of 66 at Royal Troon, with the 37-year-old going into the lead at one stage on Thursday before he was overtaken by Daniel Brown in South Ayrshire.
Kaufman actually tipped Lowry to contend at The Open, due to the quality he has with his long irons. He noted that Lowry had almost snuck into contention in the FedEx Cup standings with a quietly impressive season.
And it seems that those around the 2019 Open Champion believe that he is in a very good place heading into this week.
What Shane Lowry’s manager said ahead of The Open
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Kaufman noted that his manager was backing Lowry for a very impressive week at Troon.
“I think he’s built for these conditions, and it’s a golf course that I think that just suits his game perfectly, because the fairways roll out so much, so the distance for the longer guys won’t be that much of an advantage, because the fairways are going to run into these pot bunkers. So if your goal every single day is avoid the pot bunkers and give yourself opportunities, Shane’s the type of player that can take advantage of that because he’s a very accurate iron player, especially with the long irons when he gets to these par threes, he’s not going to be at a disadvantage that he can’t it up in the air, because he can, because he is a guy that can flush it,” he said.
“I talked to his manager before the week started, he just said, ‘this is the best form that Shane Lowry’s been in since 2019 and the week in which he won at Portrush’. So good vibes from Shane.
“I thought the funniest thing that he noted too, was in his interview with Cara Banks that he felt like it was a Saturday or Sunday, that’s the type of support that he thought that he was getting. In the end, he had to settle himself in because it’s only a Thursday, there’s still three rounds to go. But he was already feeling the juice of man, just get me in contention, I think he’s ready to be a part of the storyline here over the next 54 holes.”
Experience of winning 2019 Open could make a big difference
Obviously, there is a long way to go in the tournament, but it surely counts for something that Lowry is, by far, the highest placed former winner of the event. Jordan Spieth was the only other previous winner in the top 20 after the first round.
Of course, the conditions mean that there remains a long list of players still in contention over the next three rounds. But The Open is such a unique test, particularly for those who usually ply their trade on the PGA Tour. So Lowry having that knowledge of winning at Royal Portrush could be very significant.
But, as Kaufman suggests, Lowry will not be getting carried away with so much of the tournament still ahead of him.
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