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Shane Lowry insisted he would not get carried away by the prospect of a second Open title despite making a flawless start at Royal Troon.
The 2019 champion carded a five-under-par 66 on Thursday to lie just a shot behind English qualifier Daniel Brown, the world number 272 making a birdie on the 18th in near-darkness to snatch a shock lead on his major debut.
“I’m pretty happy, but it’s only one day,” Lowry said. “We’ve got three more.
“I kept telling myself that out there because for some reason I felt like the crowd were getting very excited. It was late in the afternoon and a few pints of Tennent’s were had out there. It felt more like the weekend.
“I just kept on telling myself there’s a lot more to do so I just kind of stayed in my lane and hit some good shots, and I was pretty happy with how I handled myself.
“The walk down 18 was actually pretty cool. I said to Billy Foster [Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie] that it’s the greatest walk in golf and I got to do it on a Sunday afternoon with a full house. That’s the plan, to try to get to do that again.
“I’d give anything to win this tournament again. I’d give anything to give myself a chance to win this tournament again and that’s why I’m here this week.”
Lowry’s friend and Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy faced an uphill struggle simply to make the cut on Friday, the world number two carding double bogeys on the eighth and 11th in a first round of 78.
Bryson DeChambeau, who edged out McIlroy at Pinehurst last month to win a second US Open title, also had work to do following a 76 which was matched by England’s Tommy Fleetwood, while 15-time major winner Tiger Woods looked destined for another early exit following a 79.
Shot of the day
Spanish amateur Jaime Montojo had a fairytale start to his maiden Open when he holed out from 132 yards for an eagle on the first.
Round of the day
Qualifier Daniel Brown also enjoyed a dream Open debut with a flawless 65 rounded off by a birdie on the 18th at 9.33pm to take the lead.
Quote of the day
Min Woo Lee apologies to the volunteer tasked with raking bunkers on the famous eighth hole after he and many others found sand at the Postage Stamp.
Statistic of the day
Top statistician Justin Ray highlights how impressive Brown’s round was.
Easiest hole
The par-five 16th, which played downwind, was unsurprisingly the easiest hole, yielding four eagles, 39 birdies, 25 bogeys and just one double bogey for an average of 4.872.
Hardest hole
The 450-yard 12th hole is not as well known as the eighth or 11th, but played the most difficult with just nine birdies, 44 bogeys, seven double bogeys and three “other” scores leading to an average of 4.397.
Selected tee times
0925 – Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay0947 – Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick1242 – Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Jasper Stubbs1253 – Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Matthew Southgate1448 – Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim1510 – Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton
Weather forecast
Cloudy with a chance of some early drizzle before turning brighter and breezier as the day progresses. Brisk southerly winds developing with gusts up to 28mph.
