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Shane Lowry positioned himself for a second career British Open victory with a resilient second-round performance Friday at Royal Troon.
Starting the day one shot behind the leader, Lowry shot a 2-under-par 69 to reach 7-under for the tournament, holding a two-shot lead over first-round leader Daniel Brown as the afternoon groups began their second rounds.
The 37-year-old, who won the 2019 Open at Portrush, maintained control at 2-under-par through 10 holes. However, he faced a challenge at the difficult par-4 11th hole.
"I was in control of my ball, did all the right things for a lot of the round, and then when I got in a bit of trouble," Lowry explained.
Lowry rescued his round
This error resulted in a double bogey, dropping him back to 5-under par. Yet, he rallied with birdies on the par-5 16th and the 18th to close the round.
"I feel like I really finished the round well," Lowry said.
"I'm pretty happy with the day. To be leading this tournament after two days, it's why you come here, it's why we're here.
"I'll sit back and watch a bit of golf in the afternoon and see where it leaves me come the end of the day, and get out there tomorrow. The job tomorrow as well is to try to put myself in a position to win this tournament on Sunday, and that's what I'll try and do."
Lowry's issue on the 11th came after hitting the hardest shot on the hole, the tee shot, with the railway just a few yards to the right. His tee shot landed in the right rough, and his second shot went left into the bush.
"I did the hard part; I hit my drive where you could find it, which is obviously a hard thing to do on that hole," Lowry detailed.
"I got a little bit distracted on the right just as I was over the shot, and I kind of lost my train of thought. You're so afraid of going right there that I just snagged the club and went left.
"To be honest, I was happy enough leaving there with a 6. It was not like it wasn't a disaster. I was still leading the tournament."