Shane Lowry could not hide his happiness as he reflected on some encouraging signs after implementing a new driver at the Amgen Irish Open.
With a Ryder Cup soon on the horizon you might think it unlikely for players to be making significant changes to clubs, but the Irishman has struggled with performance and trust at the top end of his bag throughout the year.
Ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA TOUR in March, Lowry openly admitted he tested as many as 15 drivers in practice and he has used several variations of the Srixon ZXi.
Having switched to a Srixon ZXi SLS driver for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, he has now brought in another Tour-only model in the ZXi LS+ for this week at The K Club – his first start outside of the Major Championships on the DP World Tour.
While aware it is just a start, Lowry was pleased with how it performed for him in his three-under-par 69 on Thursday.
“It’s a new driver, I am very happy with myself,” he said with a broad smile.
“I have been struggling to find the driver I love this year. And, yeah, that was good today!
“But it is only one day. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Starting at the tenth in the morning wave, Lowry began with five straight pars before he bounced back from a bogey at the 15th with a birdie at the 18th to card a level-par front nine.
He built on that momentum by making birdies at the fourth, sixth and ninth after finding the fairway off the tee at each to make a strong start in his bid to become a two-time winner of his home championship.
Lowry, who won this event on his debut as an amateur in 2009, added: “The Irish crowds are great. We obviously had it at The Open a few weeks ago as well.
“It is nice to play well in front of them and hopefully I can keep playing all right and give them something to shout about come Sunday.”
