Shane Lowry fired a course-record 62 to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the Amgen Irish Open on Friday, while defending champion Rory McIlroy slipped nine strokes back after admitting to feeling "frustration" on the greens.
Lowry mixed nine birdies with a single bogey in his eight-under-par round at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, moving him to 11 under and three strokes clear of the rest of the morning starters.
The closest challengers from Lowry's half of the draw were Haotong Li and Jacob Skov Olesen, who shot rounds of 63 and 64 respectively to reach eight under. Denmark's Niklas Norgaard Moller also reached eight under, leaving the three players tied for second place. Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin sat six strokes off the lead.
Patrick Reed went into the weekend on four under, with Jon Rahm and Robert MacIntyre a further shot back on three under after MacIntyre carded a 65. McIlroy stood nine off the lead following his second successive round of 69.
First-round leader Joaquin Niemann followed his opening 65 with a level-par 70, while Tyrrell Hatton was among the notable names to miss the cut. Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka avoided missing the cut, following his opening 75 with a 66.
How Lowry raced ahead on home soil
Lowry, who won this tournament in 2009 as a 22-year-old amateur, played in the group behind McIlroy alongside Reed and Rahm. He watched the crowds swell for his fellow Irishman before mounting his own charge with three consecutive birdies from the third hole.
He holed a long-range putt at the seventh and picked up further shots over the next two holes to make the turn in 30. Back-to-back birdies from the 11th briefly put Lowry, the 2019 Open champion, on what commentators called "59 watch".
That prospect ended with a three-putt bogey from 20 feet at the 13th, but Lowry recovered to birdie the 15th and closed out his record-breaking round with three straight pars.
"It was real fun out there," Lowry said. "I got off to a nice start and then I just kept going. I felt great out there. Just kept my foot on the gas and tried to keep hitting good shots and keep holing putts."
McIlroy's putting frustration
McIlroy, the Masters champion and world number two, holed a birdie from off the second green but could not convert several other chances on his front nine. He failed to get up and down from a bunker and missed a close-range putt to save par at the seventh.
He responded with a sensational eagle at the par-five eighth after firing his approach shot close to the pin, only to card a sloppy bogey at the 11th. A long-range birdie at the 17th was then cancelled out by a disappointing three-putt at the last.
"Frustration," was McIlroy's assessment of his second round. "I just didn't have it on the greens. I really struggled to read them. It's hard whenever you struggle to read them.
"It's been a tough one on the greens the last two days, but tee to green I've actually been pretty happy with how everything else is. I just need to try to hole a few more over the weekend."
What's next
Live coverage of the Amgen Irish Open continues on Saturday from 2.30pm.
