BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 8, 2022

Shane Lowry

Wentworth Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Bogey-free in challenging conditions, what was it like out there?

SHANE LOWRY: It was fine. Obviously there was a few bad showers. But like if you get them on the right holes, it's actually okay. You get them on the shorter easier holes, and I managed it. There was no wind out there. The course was very gettable. Pretty happy.

Q. Amazing galleries even in the bad weather. What was the atmosphere like?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it's great. Look, this is the biggest event on The European Tour or DP World Tour, I should say, and it's one of my favourites to come play in. I love playing here every year. I'll never miss it. It's something that it really feels like a major tournament.

Been out there playing and been out, Rory is a group ahead of us and playing with Justin and Tommy, too, home favourites, I suppose, was pretty nice and it was nice to kind of feed off the buzz of the crowd.

Q. You played some excellent rounds of golf over the years. How was that one?

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it was good. I felt it was gettable even though there was some quite bad showers. The greens are in great shape, as good as I've ever seen the greens here. It was easy -- not easy but you could see the ball going in the hole pretty easy today. I feel like there was birdies to be had out there. I obviously made a few. Would I have liked to make a couple more. Disappointed with the other two par 5s but you're not going to get everything. I'm pretty happy with that score. I think it's a nice score.

Q. This is one of, if not your favourite, why?

SHANE LOWRY: I feel like when you're out here, the crowds are amazing. The atmosphere, they are very golf knowledgeable. They know their golf and if you hit a good shot, you get a nice clap. It's just a really nice atmosphere to play golf in, from day one when I came here back in 2010, I've loved coming here ever since.

Q. You've had a great year despite not winning. How do you feel about it? There have been good results and consistency.

SHANE LOWRY: Well, it's as good a year as I've had in my career without winning. That's the best way to sum it up. I'd love to win one of the next few tournaments I play over the next few months and to finish the calendar year with a win would be nice. Obviously we have big things to play for in Europe for the rest of the year and hopefully I can give it a run this weekend, and you never know. See what happens.

Q. Opening 66, just two strokes back of Tommy Fleetwood who you were paired with. In that situation, is it almost easy to get momentum?

SHANE LOWRY: I do feel like we dragged each other along today. Tommy -- I was 4-under through 11 and what was he, 6-under for the last, from the 12th in. So I felt like we both had it going at certain stages today and it was nice to be out there, the buzz of the crowds and making birdies. It was good fun.

Q. What are the unique challenges when it's raining, not raining, it's raining?

SHANE LOWRY: I think you need a little bit of luck when you're out there. I think you need the -- if you get the rain on the wrong holes, it's difficult. But we kind of got them on the easier holes today, and that does make a big difference. The shorter, easier holes, if you get when it rains there, it's fine. But if you get it on a hole like 15 or something, it makes it a lot more difficult.

You just need to be patient and you need to just be clever the way you play golf and just try and stay dry.

Q. With the softer conditions, did you feel like you had to be more aggressive than you'd been in the past?

SHANE LOWRY: Felt like they had taken rough away from the edges of the greens here so I felt like you could be more aggressive to some flags. Yeah, look, I know this course very well and I really enjoying playing golf here. But it can jump up and bite you at certain stages in you're not careful. You need to be clever out there. Hopefully I did that today and I can do it for the rest of the week.