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THE 148TH OPEN

July 19, 2019

Shane Lowry

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

STUART MOFFAT: We're joined by Shane Lowry in the interview room. Shane is currently tied for the lead at 8-under par.

You've had a good day at the office for you. How does it feel to be up there at the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it's nice. If they had offered it to me at the start of the week I would have taken it. I'm really happy to be where I am. I really, really enjoyed today. There's not too many days like that on the golf course. It's hard to describe.

Hopefully more of the same tomorrow. And see where it leaves me tomorrow.

Q. On the back nine it looked like a couple slipped away.
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, obviously it could have been better. Every day you play golf it could have been better. It could have been worse, as well.

Good up and down on 15 and 16 and 17. It was nice obviously -- I'm disappointed. The only bogey, I three-putted 14, but it was a very tough two-putt. I duffed one on 18. I haven't done that for a while. I don't know what it was. Maybe I was trying to hit an 8-iron too hard. It was just one of those.

Obviously every day you play golf it could be better. But you look at the start I got off to, doesn't get any better than that. Look, I'm very happy where I am and right where I want to be.

Obviously when I got to 10-under you're looking at keeping it there, to get more. I'm at 8-under now and I'm happy on my two days' work.

Q. What was the strike like on the 17th tee, did something go off?
SHANE LOWRY: There's a little tented village with a TV screen about 80 yards from the tee box, and I could hear Jay Townsend commenting on my shot. Just on my backswing he said, He's got 295 to the top of the hill. Yeah, that put me off. But I got lucky, I got a great break and managed to make par.

Q. Do you allow yourself to think about winning The Open Championship, is that dangerous? How do you balance that?
SHANE LOWRY: You start thinking about it when people start asking you about it.

Look, I'm obviously going to be thinking about it tonight. There's no point in shying away from it. I'm in a great position. But, my God, have we got a long way to go. There's two rounds of golf on this golf course against the best field in the world.

The one thing I have to do is go out, I keep saying the same thing all the time, I've been doing great in year, I shot 67 today. I need to go out and shoot the best score I can tomorrow, and hopefully it leaves me in a decent position on into Sunday.

Q. You were flowing beautifully for 10 holes, 6-under par. Did slow play get to you a little bit? Did you tighten up on the three or four holes?
SHANE LOWRY: Well, yeah, you look at the golf I played coming into the last few holes. I didn't feel any different, but, yeah, I hit some poor shots coming in.

But looking, 18 holes around there, you're not going to hit 67 or 65 or whatever perfect shots. You're going to hit some bad shots. And I just happened to do it on the last few holes today.

Obviously, look, I wouldn't say I was nervous playing the last. But you're coming down there, if anything, I probably got a little bit tentative over the second shot on the last, just staring it up the middle of the green. But I was trying to hit it hard as well. It was a funny one.

Slow play, no, it didn't -- there was a lot of waiting around today. Look, when it started to rain and it's harder to hit fairways and stuff. But, no, it didn't. If anything, the two lads I was playing with were nice to play with. We had a fun day.

Q. You obviously have led majors before, Shane, you can draw on the experience. What's the difference out there? You seem to be feeding off that crowd for so long, especially on the front nine.
SHANE LOWRY: I don't know, to be honest. I just feel like I'm in a great place. I feel like if I go out there and shoot 65 or 75, look, I'll be disappointed if I shoot 75 tomorrow. But I don't think it will hurt me like it has before.

I don't think the consequences are as bad, and I feel like that's why I'm so good mentally at the minute. I'm just trying to take one day at a time. Just try and shoot the best scores that I can.

Look, if I give myself a chance to do something very special here on Sunday, no matter what happens it will be a great week. Hopefully I can go out tomorrow and shoot a decent one. But if I don't, it won't be the end of the world. That's where I'm at mentally. I'll still be getting on an airplane Monday to go to Memphis, regardless of what happens Sunday.

Q. Padraig was telling us that scar tissue can actually be a good thing. I was wondering if you think you might be able to take some of those experiences at Oakmont as a positive going into this weekend?
SHANE LOWRY: Oakmont was so long ago and I was a lot younger. I feel like if I get the opportunity this week I'll be better. I don't think -- what am I trying to say? I'm trying to say it definitely won't affect me what happened in Oakmont. Obviously I've got over that. Like, it took me a while to get over it but I got over it.

Look I'm just out here on the Tour trying to compete as best I can. This week it's pretty good, so hopefully I can just continue on over the next couple of days and see where it leaves me.

Q. You were talking on Tuesday about you were seeing your shots and getting into a flow. Are you talking about how you're feeling in that regard. And secondly, just belief, as well. Do you have a belief, do you doubt you can be an Open Champion?
SHANE LOWRY: I've won big tournaments before, and I've shot some good scores and I'm in a familiar place. I know the surroundings. I feel pretty comfortable here this week. I feel like I can go out there.

Look, I might go out there and shoot two 67s the weekend. If J.B. Holmes shoots 67, 66 he beats me. That's the way it is. Look, I've just got to go out and do my best, and if that is good enough at the end of the day, we'll have a good night Sunday.

Q. There's incredible lines out there and huge crowds. Have you ever played under crowds like that before?
SHANE LOWRY: I don't think so. I really don't think so. I think it was incredible right from the first hole. And even the crowd didn't seem that big around the third green, but the roar at the putt was unbelievable. When I holed that putt on 10, that long one on 10, it was just incredible.

You can't but smile, you can't but laugh how it is. There's no point trying to shy away from it. It's an incredible feeling. Like I said yesterday, it's an incredible feeling getting applauded on every green, every tee box. I'm out there giving my best, trying to do my best for everyone, I suppose.

Q. Did you ever allow yourself to think what this experience might be like?
SHANE LOWRY: As in before this week? Like the Irish Open every year is quite big. We get huge crowds at that. It's similar but it's obviously bigger, this is bigger.

But I've been involved in big tournaments and especially Irish Opens where the crowds got big and are behind you. So I have experience, but I can't explain how good it is to be out there in the middle of all that, to be between the ropes hitting the shots. And it's just an incredible feeling.

Q. We've heard from people like Graeme and Rory about what this means to them. Can you talk about what it means to you to have this Open on this island? Does it mean something special to you?
SHANE LOWRY: I got asked a similar question yesterday. I'm not very sentimental when it comes to anything like that. But yeah, it is great. The nicest thing about it was I didn't have to go to the airport (laughter). It's nice to be able to get in my car and pack my car and not have to pack my clothes and my coverall.

Yeah, look, it's great. The best thing about it is I know the golf course, I know the area. When you're in familiar surroundings it's just nice to be here. And I think this is one of the best golf courses in Ireland, if not the world.

It deserves an Open Championship and I think it's shown itself very well this week to the world. Yeah, look, I'd give anything to have a chance here on Sunday afternoon. And then maybe it will be a bit more sentimental to me.

Q. How do you describe the difference in how you felt leaving The Open last year, about your game, versus how you're feeling now and what's changed?
SHANE LOWRY: I suppose I struggled at The Open in Carnoustie last year. I didn't have my caddie that I had for nine years and I was very down about how things were. I was very down about my game. And, yeah, I wasn't in a great place mentally, I suppose.

I'm in a totally different place now. Look, it's chalk and cheese, really. It's all different how I feel now to how I did last year. What's the difference? I honestly have no idea. I think as a golfer you have such a long career, well, hopefully you have such a long career, I've been ten years now and it's just a roller coaster.

And I think the reason I'm so good mentally now is I know -- I think, I feel like I know how to take the downs. I feel like the roller coaster ride is going to be there. Hopefully I have it for another 15, 20 years. You've got to enjoy the good times and take the bad times on the chin. And I don't know the difference.

Obviously, look, I've got a new caddie now. But I'm not going to say that's the difference because I wouldn't blame anything on my last caddie. I think I was maybe just not mentally very good and my golf wasn't as good as it is now. But I'm obviously in a good position now.

Q. Normally at this point in the tournament we ask guys like you how you'll combat the nerves tonight and what you'll do to stay steady. Am I right in thinking you're not really nervous at all?
SHANE LOWRY: You ought to see my legs on the first tee yesterday morning.

Q. And secondly, will you be asking for them to turn the tele down on the 17th?
SHANE LOWRY: Maybe they might hear this. I won't be going searching out anyone from The R&A to do it, no.

Q. Am I right you're just not nervous at all, you seem so confident?
SHANE LOWRY: No, couldn't be any further from the truth. I was shaking on the first tee yesterday morning, that's how nervous I was before I played this tournament. After I hit the ball I said to my caddie I've never been that nervous about a tee shot. I don't know why. I just was.

I've got my wife and I've got a two-year-old kid that will keep me pretty occupied over the next 16 or 18 hours before I tee off tomorrow. Yeah, like she doesn't care what time I'm teeing off, I'll still be awake at 7:00 in the morning.

Q. I'm assuming you stopped shaking now?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I hit my tee shot down the fairway and I stopped shaking then. I got into a great rhythm the last couple of days, especially to start a round today. But yesterday as well for the first dozen holes I was in a great rhythm, I felt great.

I feel like I can get myself in there and hopefully for a couple of stages over the next two rounds I can get myself in that again and when I do, take advantage of it.

STUART MOFFAT: Shane, thanks for your time.

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