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Shane Lowry ‘walked in’ after five holes in his first round at Oakmont

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3 days ago

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As we all know, golf is a very strange game. Just when you think you’re about to play well, you throw up a stinker. And on days when you think you just aren’t going to have it, you throw up a career round. Maddening would be the appropriate word to describe these experiences.

Shane Lowry had to be feeling somewhat good about his game heading into the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. That season he had piled up four top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour heading into what used to be the second major of the year, including a T-6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a T-16 in the Players Championship. He arrived at Oakmont the Sunday before the U.S. Open for some prep work, having never been on the property before.

Growing up in Ireland, Lowry wasn’t really aware of Oakmont’s reputation, so he didn’t know what to expect. As he told reporters on Thursday at the Memorial Tournament, he went out for one of the shortest practice rounds known to man for exactly the reason you’d expect—the course was simply too hard.

“I’ve got a good story about that,” said Lowry when asked if he recalled his first Oakmont experience. “The first time I played Oakmont was the Sunday before the U.S. Open 2016, and I went out to play with … my coach was with me, and we teed off on 10. We got around to 14, which is up beside the clubhouse, and I walked in. And I sat there in the locker room going, I have no idea how I’m going to play golf around this place.”

For those keeping score, that’s five holes. Lowry played five holes and that was all he needed to see to declare that his 2016 U.S. Open was over. He played the 460-yard par-4 10th (a hole Phil Mickelson four-putted in 2007), the 400-yard par-4 11th, the mammoth 632-yard par-5 12th (which Dustin Johnson made four pars on en route to his 2016 victory), the 182-yard par-3 13th and the 379-yard par-4 14th, the easiest of the holes he played. Lowry had still seen enough, making the short uphill walk to the clubhouse as opposed to playing the iconic final stretch.

One week later, after rounds of 68, 70 and 65, Lowry held a four-shot lead after 54 holes.

Obviously, we got a bit of rain … that was before the rain,” Lowry said. “It was firm and fast when I played it that Sunday, and it was windy. We got a bit of rain that week. Which helped us. But, yeah, Oakmont, I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s going to play like, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of it.”

It was a deluge of rain that week. Play was suspended three times on Day 1, delaying the proceedings significantly. More heavy rain overnight on Thursday sofetened up the golf course considerably and made for good scoring conditions over the next two days. By Sunday, however, Oakmont crisped up, so much so that Dustin Johnson’s ball infamously moved on the fifth green and led to a one-stroke penalty after his final round. Fortunately he still won by three. Lowry, meanwhille, stumbled in on Sunday, shooting a six-over 76. He still tied for second with Scott Piercy and Jim Furyk.

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