‘Crazy’ drama as Open champ rips into cameraman in foul-mouthed scolding while Day surges
British Open champion Shane Lowry has lashed out at a cameraman after a loss of focus on the 11th hole cost him the outright lead at Royal Troon on Friday.
British Open champion Shane Lowry has lashed out at a cameraman after a loss of focus on the 11th hole cost him the outright lead at Royal Troon on Friday.
The 2019 winner had played superbly for much of the morning when, at 2-under for the day, he lost control of a shot from the rough that flew left and into thick gorse.
He blamed the wild shot, which led to a double-bogey, on the camera operator.
“As I was over the ball I could just see you putting your f–king camera up. Just get out of the way. Just get back there. F–k sake,” he swore.
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The local broadcaster was forced to apologise for Lowry’s language after showing the 37-year-old’s scorched shot live.
Former Australian golfer Alison Whitaker, who was hosting the coverage at the time, said it was an unfortunate break for Lowry.
“It was a tough break there, a photo click at the wrong time there for our leader. The crowd did not even see it fly over their heads,” she said.
Lowry is the outright leader after the second round at 7-under, two in front of Daniel Brown and Justin Rose. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is in contention at 2-under, while Jason Day and Adam Scott are the only Australians to make the cut.
FULL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD
DAY SURGES AS WEATHER TURNS
After finishing runner-up at Liverpool a year ago, Jason Day has put himself into contention for a maiden British Open triumph with a superb round on another torrid day at Royal Troon.
On a day where the hopes of every other Australian were blown away by the wind, the former world No.1 enjoyed the best of the conditions when equalling the day’s best round.
After starting the day at +2, Day held his game together as the conditions worsened to shoot a 3-under 68 and sits in a tie for seventh at 1-under, six shots behind leader Shane Lowry.
“Sometimes when you know that you’re going to get tough conditions, trying to get anything around even par is a good score, but we got lucky with draw, I feel,” Day said.
“It was tough conditions yesterday but this morning, it sat down for us. It was still a little bit windy out there, but it sat down for us through the first 12 holes.
“But at that time we turned, so 11 and 12 were really difficult for us, just because of all of the gorse bushes and stuff, but once we turned, everything kind of opens up.
“You still don’t want to miss fairways, but you have kind of got a little bit more leeway there in regards to your misses.
“It was nice to get off to a good start and then, yeah, it was nice birdie on 13 there from out of the rough and then (I was) just kind of nice and steady.”
He was joined on the weekend by Adam Scott, but the former Masters winner said his hopes hung “on a prayer” after he recorded a 6-over 77 to leave himself five shots over par.
Scott, who made a long birdie putt on 17 to bring himself under the cut, was shellshocked after making six bogeys in the opening 12 holes as Troon was buffeted by 60km/h winds.
“Man, it’s a pride thing, honestly, to make the cut at that number and be here for the weekend,” Scott told foxsports.com.au.
“It’s now on a prayer that you’re thinking about winning the tournament. I’d have to go and shoot a hell of a round.”
Lowry, the champion in 2019, played superbly in a group that finished Cameron Smith - the Queenslander was better on Friday but still finished at +12 - and holds a two-stroke lead.
“To shoot in the 60s is very good any day on this course, even when the conditions aren’t this bad. I’m very happy,” he said.
Overnight leader Daniel Brown shares second position with former world No.1 Justin Rose, while the best golfer currently in Scottie Scheffler sits in equal-fourth at 2-under.
“I’d be interested to see what the statistics are, because I felt like I holed a good amount of putts,” Scheffler said.
“I hit a lot of good ones, some up around the cup. It can be really challenging with how windy it is out there to hole a bunch of putts.
“So I’d be interested to see what the stats say after today because yesterday was one of those days where it felt nothing could fall, and I think I was down maybe half a shot, which I would have imagined when I walked off the course it would have been worse than that.
“So today, being able to hole a few, especially some important ones on the back nine for par, those always feel good, keeping the momentum (going).”
Sometimes you can take the course bunkers on as Scottie demonstrates. pic.twitter.com/lLn7R7IMJ8
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Biggest roar of the week so far.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
A birdie on the 18th for Justin Rose.
What a round. pic.twitter.com/4qSnbLEISG
Dual-Masters champion Jon Rahm, who endured a chequered day after hitting a spectator with a wayward drive and later chipping in from a testing position, rallied late in the day.
Americans Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay are among the handful of players under par, while their compatriots Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson are all inside the cut.
What a read.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Jon Rahm chips in for his first birdie of the day on the 9th. pic.twitter.com/59wfL50tA9
Bryson finishes his front nine with a chip-in birdie to put him back inside the cut line. pic.twitter.com/MS7L513SiG
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Min Woo Lee cut a bemused figure when, after starting even with the card, he shot a 9-over 80, which matched the round recorded by 2022 champion Cameron Smith.
The Queenslander never recovered on Friday when recording a 3-over par 74 to finish at 12-over. But Smith was in good company as other champions were made to look average.
Tiger Woods finished at 14-over but, despite questions about his future, vowed he would be playing at Portrush in next year’s Open.
“I’d like to have played more, but I just wanted to make sure that I was able to play the major championships this year,” Woods said.
“I got a lot of time off to get better, to be better physically, which has been the case all year.”
Rory McIlroy’s horror month of golf continued, however.
After the despair of Pinehurst, where the Northern Irishman missed short putts on the final day on the 16th and 18th holes to cost himself victory in the US Open, he tripled-bogeyed the 550m Par 5 4th hole on the way to playing the front nine in 6-over the card on Friday.
The four-time major champion steadied from then on as the breeze dipped, but he finished in the bottom handful of contenders when recording a score of 11-over.
He later said it was clear his game struggled in the wind.
“I got off to the worst start possible today and once I made that eight that was it, 22 holes into the tournament and I’m thinking about where am I going to go on vacation next week,” McIlroy said.
“I was not going to shoot four or five under to make the cut. It was a pretty meaningless 14 holes after that but at least I played okay.”
A fighter until the end.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Rory McIlroy holes out from the bunker on the 14th. pic.twitter.com/gjhfQTB1Z9
Spare a thought, meanwhile, for Japan’s Aguri Iwasaki, who recorded consecutive nines on the 13th and 14th holes on route to shooting a 20-over 91 in what is reportedly the worst stretch seen at a major in three decades.
Aguri Iwasaki made 9 at the 13th and 14th holes today.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 19, 2024
This is the only instance in the last 30 years of The Open where a player made a score of 9 or higher on consecutive holes.
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ROUND ONE REPORT
Two years after securing the coveted Claret Jug with a phenomenal win at St Andrews, Cameron Smith narrowly avoided shooting his worst score in a major after an opening day of the British Open at Troon that he described as “absolutely brutal”.
The former world No.2 teed off in the most challenging conditions on a testing day at Troon and was under pressure immediately when triple-bogeying the second hole on the way to shooting a 9-over 80.
In numerical terms, it is his highest score in a major, though he scored a 9-over 79 at Shinnecock Hills on a similarly brutal day at the US Open in 2018. He managed to drain a decent putt on the 18th for birdie, one of three for the day, to avoid a personal record.
“It’s just a bad day, really,” he said.
“I mean, if you had told me yesterday that I was going to shoot that, I wouldn’t have said that was possible. But (it was) just a bit of a crappy start and didn’t really manage to hold any putts when I needed to, to kind of get back in it. It’s just a bad day and I had some bad breaks as well.”
The 30-year-old turned in a seven-over 43 and while the weather settled to a degree after 6pm on a day where play began 12 hours earlier, Smith was unable to rally as he plummeted out of contention, with his score ballooning to 10-over after 15 holes.
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Rubbing salt into Smith’s wounds is that playing partner Shane Lowry shot an impressive 5-under after playing superbly despite the tricky conditions.
It left the Irishman one shot off the lead which is held by England’s Daniel Brown.
Fellow playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick was also among the handful of golfers including Australian Adam Scott to finish under par.
“If you ask Shaneo, it is probably a different story, but no, it’s hard, mate,” he said.
“There was a lot of crosswinds and it was hard to keep the ball on the fairway and then, when you landed in the rough, it’s kind of you kind of guessing when you land something short with the bounces you are going to get, so yeah, it was brutal.
“It really was a good test of golf and you needed to be on your A-plus game to be under par and I witnessed it.”
The weather has played havoc, with only 15 players under par at 7.20pm as Smith came up the 16th hole, having recorded eight bogeys to go with his nightmare on the second, along with a birdie in which he rattled in a 40-foot putt on the 3rd hole, and five pars.
Australia’s other leading contenders are far better positioned, headed by veteran Adam Scott, who providing an early highlight when chipping in from the bunker on the opening hole on the way to shooting a solid 1-under.
Scott wasn’t happy with his second shot, which found one of the several bunkers on 1, but made up for it with a classy chip from the deep trap, which rolled into the hole.
Compatriot Min Woo Lee is one shot back at even par, with two late birdies rocketing him back into contention after a slow start as competitors came to grips with a U-turn in the direction the wind is blowing from practice rounds earlier this week.
Jason Day battled well in the trickiest conditions to record of 2-over, which positions him in a tie for 48th, but other big names including Rory McIlroy (+7), Bryson deChambeau (+5) and veteran Ernie Els (+11) and Tiger Woods (+8) also endured nightmare opening days.
McIlroy said he can only focus on trying to make the cut after his disastrous opening round
The world number two was looking to bounce back from narrowly missing out on a first major title for 10 years at the US Open last month.
But McIlroy’s dreams of a second Claret Jug turned into a nightmare in the wind and rain on Scotland’s west coast.
Things began to go wrong for the Northern Irishman at the par-three eighth where he found a green-side bunker with his tee shot and then rolled back into the sand with his second to make a double bogey.
Back to even par for Rory McIlroy as he birdies the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/niDNkdqHrW
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2024
He then fired out of bounds to post another double bogey at 11 and also dropped shots at the 10th, 15th and 18th.
“Just one of those days where I just didn’t adapt well enough to the conditions,” said McIlroy.
“All I need to focus on is tomorrow and try to make the cut. That’s all I can focus on.” McIlroy was far from the only big name to struggle with the combination of tough conditions and a challenging course.
US Open champion DeChambeau needed an eagle on the 17th to post a five-over 76, while world number four Ludvig Aberg hit 75.
An eagle at the 16th for Bryson DeChambeau.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2024
Will this lead to a change in momentum? pic.twitter.com/rVkWXXIdww
McIlroy explained how he had been caught out by cross-winds coming from a different direction to what he had faced in practice earlier in the week.
He last missed the cut at the British Open on home soil at Portrush in 2019, when a six-under par second round could not undo the damage of an eight-over 79 on day one.
“It was more like the conditions got the better of me,” added McIlroy. “I need to go out there and play better and try to shoot something under par and at least be here for the weekend, if not try to put myself up the leaderboard a bit more and feel like I have half a chance.
Hurt my back on hole 4 and it became worth and worth after it … see you next year @TheOpen â™¥ï¸ https://t.co/Z2WklfvLJ4
— Romain Langasque (@Lancaisse) July 18, 2024
Australia’s amateur entrant Jasper Stubbs endured a difficult debut in the British Open when shooting 9-over, but was far stronger on the back nine and finished the round with a birdie to provide him with some optimism heading into the second round.
Elvis Smylie rallied late with three birdies from his final four holes to record 5-over.
“It was pretty solid,” Scott said.
“ I think the wind change … made the back nine play tougher, even though it was down wind, (because) I hadn’t really played in that wind and I made a couple of errors. But it was fairly uneventful day, so I’ve played solid and pretty happy to start off under par.”
While the back nine is traditionally more testing than the front at Troon, which is often described as a tale of two courses, the change in wind assisted golfers in handling some of the more testing par 4s.
But that did not mean it was less tricky, with Scott over-clubbing on 16 as a result.
“On these holes … the last time I played it was 2-irons and 3-irons into every hole (whereas) today it was a sand wedge into 15,” he said. “Trying to figure that out, it was a bit like a practice run back nine today. I made an error on 16, got one too much off the tee and it cost me a bogie, but other than that everything was good.”
The 44-year-old, who finished runner-up in the Scottish Open last week, feels in better control of his game than he has in years and is hopeful of being in contention at Troon on the weekend.
Scottie is in a terrifying spot if I'm at the top of this board. Did *nothing* with the putter, gained ~5 strokes from tee to green and shot 70. Lurking so hard.
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 18, 2024
“It’d be great because my game is finally in some decent shape where I feel like I’m controlling the ball well,” he said.
“(That is something) you need to do out here, especially if you’re going to give yourself a lot of chances. It’s sometimes easy to scrap it around the links, but you’re not going to hold a lot of 40 foot (putts).
“So at some point, you’re going to need to hit some really quality iron shots from the fairway to get in close to some tough pins and give yourself more realistic chances. They are the guys who are going to be up there at the end of the week.”
Lee started slowly with consecutive bogeys on the second and third holes and double-bogeyed the 11th but played the last four holes in 3-under to finish square with the card.
He struggled early with the tempo of the greens, saying it felt like he was “smashing the putt but coming up short”.
“It was amazing. My caddie and I knew that it was going to be a tough day and, especially, the back nine is really tough,” he said.
“I made a quick double … but, you know, it was just one of those things where you know it is one of the hardest holes on (the) course. (But) I managed to hit a lot of good shots on the back nine over the last four or five or six holes and I was converting them.
“I was getting close. I feel like the putts that I’ve just missed, I read well, but just left it shorter, so I just needed to hit a harder and they went in.”
Stubbs, meanwhile, was relieved to finish with a birdie on the 18th after a testing start in which he put his opening tee shot out of bounds when pushing it towards the Firth of Clyde on route to shooting a 9-over the card.
“I finished quite nicely … but, yeah, I just got off to an annoying start to say the least,” he told foxsports.com.au
“It is not a good sign when you hit one OOB off the first, but it is what it is and I moved on. It didn’t get any better from there for a while but I fought back on the back nine.”
There was rain forecast across all four days of The Open, and a light shower has already passed through Royal Troon but hasn’t disrupted play.
Shane Lowry 🤠Harry Diamond
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) July 16, 2024
Lowry says he will 'argue with anyone' who questions Rory McIlroy's caddie 😡😤#BBCGolfpic.twitter.com/XMAe3UnYsm
Originally published as ‘Crazy’ drama as Open champ rips into cameraman in foul-mouthed scolding while Day surges
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