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RBC HERITAGE

April 18, 2019

Shane Lowry

Hilton Head, South Carolina

Q. Congratulations, a great start. Six birdies, no bogeys and no bogeys around this place is pretty strong stuff. Your thoughts on how the round went today?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I just tried to go out there and just not make too many mistakes. And when I made a mistake I managed to get up and down. I hit the ball pretty well off the tee, which gave me a lot of chances. And I knew when I seen the tee time it was a decent draw to get out there first thing and it wasn't very windy. When it gets windy around here it can swirl in the trees and get very difficult. It wasn't too bad this morning. But, yeah, I'm glad because my golf has not been great as of late. It's a funny game.

Q. Three par-5s on this golf course and you birdied all three of them. That was another key to this round.
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it was something I've been struggling with, my par 5 scoring hasn't been very good. I just played them nicely today. Like I said, I think I struggled off the tee quite a bit this year, and I managed to find a new driver that I like. I hit that pretty good. And when you do that on par-5s it always gives yourself a chance.

Q. You were here a couple of years ago, opened with 66. So one stroke better this time. What did you learn the last time around here to help you the next three days?
SHANE LOWRY: I felt like the course was easy, gettable for me today. But it's a tough golf course. So I just need to -- it doesn't take a whole lot to win around here. Score-wise it takes something in the low teens will definitely come close. It's just kind of be patient. You're going to make a few bogeys as the week goes on. But you just need to be patient.

Q. Fantastic round of golf. Bogey-free and leading just about in every single category statistically. Was it as easy out there as it looks?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, my game felt good out there. I hit the ball well off the tee. And then I hit my irons decently, when I missed a green, it was in the right spots and I managed to get them up and down. I'm happy with my golf. My scores haven't been great as of late. But I felt like I've been playing okay. So maybe this is a reward for the perseverance.

Q. Excellent start. If we can get some comments on your round?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I hit the ball well off the tee and when you hit the ball well off the tee it gives you chances and gives you chances to shoot a good score. The fairways are quite narrow, the greens are quite small. You can feel the wind getting up, but we didn't have too much of it this morning, which was nice.

Q. You mentioned the new driver, what was the process there?
SHANE LOWRY: I've tried so many drivers this year, all the companies, and I finally got one I liked, Srixon. Obviously they sponsor me. And they've been great. We've done a lot of work and I managed to find one I like and feel like I can trust it there. So hopefully it keeps going. Today was the first day that I hit the ball well off the tee. So even it felt okay last week in Augusta, but today was the first real day.

Q. How long have you had it in the bag?
SHANE LOWRY: Only two weeks.

Q. This course isn't supposed to be as easy as you made it look today. When did you start feeling like you had everything going?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, you know, I got off to a nice start, I birdied two of the first three. To be honest I felt like I missed a couple of chances in the middle of the round. But I just stayed patient, kept going. And I knew that if I hit good tee shots, my iron play felt good, and I felt like I could make birdies. It was nice to have that feeling out there.

Q. When you look at the weather forecast for tomorrow, it could be nasty in the afternoon, how nice is it to have this round in the bag?
SHANE LOWRY: You know the forecast is not going to be great. Yeah, I've seen it and knew this was my chance to go out and shoot a good number.

Q. You don't have a lot of experience out here, one previous tournament out here. What have you learned about the course?
SHANE LOWRY: It's just difficult. And if you're 7- or 8-under going into Sunday, you're going to have a chance to win the tournament, I think. And that's kind of the way this course plays. You just need to be as patient as you can. A couple of years ago I got off to a good start and I maybe tried to force it a little bit. So just try to stay patient the next few days. I enjoyed today. It's nice to shoot a good score. And it's my first good score in a few weeks. So just enjoy that and just get out there tomorrow and get after it.

Q. You mentioned it was your first good score in a few weeks. What was working out here for you today?
SHANE LOWRY: Pretty much my whole game felt good. I put a new putter in the bag this week. And I have a new driver the last couple of weeks. I've been struggling with driver off the tee. So everything felt good. I haven't had that feeling in a while. So it's kind of nice to have that.

Q. What do you like about playing in Hilton Head?
SHANE LOWRY: It's a great week. And to come here and all the players come with their families. It's just such a chill atmosphere. And especially the week after Augusta, is probably the most stressful week of the year. To come here, it's such a chill environment, and it's a beautiful place, Hilton Head, and RBC does a great job.

Q. Mindset moving into tomorrow?
SHANE LOWRY: Look, it's going to be windy tomorrow, so it's going to be very difficult. But I'll see. I'll have a look see what the scores are in the morning. But I'll just get out there and just get after it and see what happens.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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