Shane Lowry made a blistering start to the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale before play was suspended due to heavy rain in Arizona.
Starting on the 10th hole, the Offalyman birdied his first hole with a magnificent approach to two feet. It was one of four birdies in his first six holes before a bogey on the famous stadium hole 16th after he put his tee shot in the bunker and failed to get up and down.
Lowry recovered well, however, to birdie his eighth and ninth holes, at the short par 4 17th, his eighth hole, he hit it on the green in one and two-putted, and on 18 he hit to four feet for another birdie to go out in 31 strokes.
On his back nine the hot streak slowed with a bogey on the second hole and he was four-under-par after 14 holes when play was suspended, one shot behind American Sahith Theegala. Lowry is looking for a big week to climb the world rankings after he dropped out of the top 50 this week for the first time since 2019.
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On the DP World Tour Tom McKibbin made a solid start to the Qatar Masters in Doha, shooting a three-under 69 in his opening round, two strokes off the lead of Zander Lombard and Ashun Wu. The highlight of the Holywood golfer’s round was an eagle 2 at the par 4 second – a 350-yard drive and a holed wedge from 82 yards.
On the Ladies European Tour, Ireland’s Lauren Walsh kicked off her first full season as a professional at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in fine style, taking a share of the lead with a four-under-par bogey-free 69. The 23-year-old had an impressive amateur career, a two-time Curtis Cup player and helped Wake Forest win the NCAAs last year. A shot further back in tied fourth was Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey, who shot a 70, making it a promising start for the Irish contingent.
Elsewhere, Cristobal Del Solar set a scoring record with a 13-under-par 57 at the first round of the Astara Golf Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s secondary competition. It is the lowest round in any PGA Tour-sanctioned or DP World Tour event. The Chilean made the turn in eight-under 27 before coming home in 30 shots, a total of nine birdies and two eagles.
“It was crazy, honestly I didn’t even know what I shot,” Del Solar said. “I knew I was playing, obviously, great ... Everything just kept happening. Everything just clicked.”
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