Shane Lowry opens up with a four under round at 2024 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Shane Lowry played his first round of 2024 Waste Management Phoenix Open with Matt Fitzpatrick and Sung-jae Im. Lowry started his round on the 10th hole. The conditions for day one were cold and breezy. Lowry hit an extraordinary iron shot on hole 10 and held a short-range putt to reach one under. The Irishman made it two birdies in a row after holing a great putt at his second hole. Lowry hit another sensational iron shot at hole 12 but was unsuccessful in starting with three birdies in a row.

Lowry reached three under after an excellent up and down for birdie at his fourth hole. Offaly native reached four under after taking advantage of the par five 15th hole. The iconic par three 16th played 151 yards and Lowry’s tee shot ended up in a greenside bunker. Lowry was unsuccessful in saving par from 10 feet which resulted in a bogey. 2019 Champion Golfer Of The Year bounced back immediately with a birdie on the short par four 17th hole. On the back nine at TPC Scottsdale holes 13, 15 & 17 are very scorable and Lowry played these holes in three under.

Irishman hit another unbelievable iron shot on hole 18 and finished his front nine with a fantastic birdie. Lowry shot a front nine of five under which included six birdies and one bogey. Lowry started his back nine on hole one and held a great par putt to avoid a bogey. Lowry’s tee shot at his 11th hole ended up near a cactus tree and was able to advance his ball beside the green. Offaly native dropped the second shot of his round after been unsuccessful with his par effort.

Rain started to get heavy as Lowry played his 12th hole. Lowry missed a short-range birdie putt at the par five third hole to return to five under. 2022 BMW PGA Championship winner set up another birdie opportunity after a great tee shot at 180 yard par three fourth hole. Lowry’s birdie effort at his 13th hole was extremely close but had to settle for par. A exceptional up and down from Lowry at his 14th hole to remain four under.

Play was suspended due to rain as Lowry was playing his 15th hole. Play resumed after a rain delay of three and a half hours at 11pm Irish time. A fantastic job done by the greenkeeping team at TPC Scottsdale to get conditions playable again. Lowry’s second shot on hole six came to rest on the edge of green and managed to escape with a par. Irishman’s 16th hole was a 216 yard par three and Lowry hit a sensational five iron onto the green to set up a birdie opportunity. Lowry was aggressive with his birdie putt but held a fantastic par save.

Hole eight was playing the fifth toughest hole on day one. Offaly native missed the green with his second shot and had to get up and down to achieve a par. Another excellent par save from Lowry as he headed to his final hole on four under. The ninth hole was the third toughest hole on day one. Lowry missed the fairway and his second shot came to rest left of the green. A great chip shot and Lowry tapped in a four-footer to finish with a closing par.

Lowry shot an opening round of 67. This was a fantastic round due to playing in extremely difficult conditions. Lowry is seven shots behind day one leader Nick Taylor on 11 under. A long way to go but it would be fantastic if Lowry could keep it going over the weekend. Lowry won’t play his second round until Saturday due to several weather delays.