Shane Lowry on Rory McIlroy setting the benchmark at tournaments- "Not a surprise to see him at the top"
Shane Lowry finished the first round of the 2024 BMW PGA Championship in a share of fourth place with a score of 5-under. Lowry shares the spot on the leaderboard with 10 other players, including friend Rory McIlroy.
At the end of the round, reporters asked Shane Lowry about Rory McIlroy's recent performances. Lowry said he was not surprised to see the four-time major champion at the top of the leaderboard (via ASAP Golf):
"Rory is obviously playing great golf. Look, it's not a surprise to see him at the top of the leaderboard today. I think if you're going to win the tournament this week, if you finish ahead of him, you've got a great chance."
Commenting on his own game, Shane Lowry said he was pleased with his performance despite not having the best of luck on the front nine:
"I felt like I hit some good shots on the front nine; you don't get rewarded. You kind of have to stay very patient around here you and always know you're going to have a few chances coming in. I did that today and I got rewarded on the back nine."
He added:
"Yeah, hopefully I can keep this good golf up for the next few days, and give myself another run at this."
Shane Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship in 2022 when he defeated Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm by one stroke. Eight years ago (2014), it was McIlroy who defeated Lowry at the same tournament, also by one stroke.
Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship
Shane Lowry carded a bogey-free front nine with one birdie in the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship. He was much better on the back nine, despite bogeying the 13th, as he eagled the 12th and carded three more birdies to finish on five-under.
Lowry led the round in driving accuracy percentage with 85.7%, but was not the same in the short game or putting. His green in regulation percentage was 66.7% and he used 27 putts during the round.
As for Rory McIlroy, his performance was the opposite of Lowry's as his best stretch was the front nine. He made five birdies and one bogey to make the turn at 4-under.
On the back nine, McIlroy birdied the 12th and 13th and then parred the next four holes in a row. His biggest problem of the round came on the 18th, when he sent his second shot out of bounds and had to take a penalty stroke.
Despite this, the Northern Irishman reached the green with the option of saving par as his fourth shot was left in the rough nine yards from the hole. McIlroy tried to chip it in, but the ball went just wide and ended 11 inches from the hole. He eventually made bogey.