Shane Lowry and JB Holmes look a bit alike – well-built, not gym rats for sure, both bearded and not the sort to be seen in the ubiquitous Ultramarine blues or designer splatter shirts being worn by their contemporaries at the 148th Open at Royal Portrush.
But it’s the Irishman and the Kentuckian who lead at the halfway stage of the Open on eight-under after another day of squally showers and scoring on the North Antrim coast, and neither is intent on letting their big chance go.
There’s still some foreboding presences in their wake – World No 1 Brooks Koepka, more ubiquitous even than the blue shirt he wore, is just three off the lead, Justin Rose is in close attendance, and 2017 champion Jordan Spieth, despite not finding much cut grass all day it seems, is in position yet again.
But Holmes played solidly with the lead to at least retain and share of it for a second day, and Lowry turned a fabulous start into a second 67 having reached the giddy heights of ten-under with five holes to play.
Who has the better Open record? Easily the man from the American MidWest, and not the supposed links and bad weather specialist from County Offaly. Lowry has missed the last four cuts in the Open, and these are his first two under-par rounds in the championship since Hoylake in 2014.
Holmes has a third place behind – a LONG way behind – the Stenson and Mickelson duel at Royal Troon in 2016. But Lowry admitted he’s thinking about winning.
“You start thinking about it when people start asking you about it,” he said, flashing that grin. “Look, I’m obviously going to be thinking about it tonight. There’s no point in shying away from it.
“I’m in a great position. But, my God, have we got a long way to go. There’s two rounds of golf on this golf course against the best field in the world.
“The one thing I have to do is go out, shoot the best score I can tomorrow, and hopefully it leaves me in a decent position on into Sunday.”
He had a two-shot lead on Holmes but gave them back on the last few holes after steaming to the turn in 31, but he would have accepted his final position at any point.
“I’m very happy where I am and right where I want to be,” he added. “Obviously when I got to 10-under you’re looking at keeping it there, to get more. I’m at 8-under now and I’m happy on my two days’ work.”
Lowry doesn’t have quite the same emotional issues as the Northern Irishmen, but he feels the nerves, alright.
“I was shaking on the first tee, I said to my caddie `I’ve never been as nervous as that’,” he said. “I’m not very sentimental about these things, my thought coming in was just `it’ll be nice to not have to go to the airport for once’.
“But was incredible right from the first hole. The roar at the putt on the third was unbelievable. When I holed that putt on 10, that long one on 10, it was just incredible.
“You can’t but smile, you can’t but laugh how it is. There’s no point trying to shy away from it. It’s an incredible feeling getting applauded on every green, every tee box.
“I’m out there giving my best, trying to do my best for everyone, I suppose.”
Holmes knows full well that conditions dictate at the Open and they can be against you, and he thinks he can thrive even when he gets the bad side of the draw.
“I’ve just always been able to play pretty good when the conditions have been windy and rough,” he said. “You really have to be creative around a links golf course and you just have to be prepared for anything.
“I’ve played before where you can go out in one wave and 66 is the low score, or when you go in the afternoon and 1-over is a good score.
“It’s part of that over here, and you have to roll with the punches and just accept what it is. And sometimes it’s your week and sometimes it’s not.”
Holmes had two bogeys in his 68, but he likes the idea of playing at the end of the field on the weekend.
“I’ve always liked being able to see my competitor and go eye-to-eye,” he said. “I always felt like if I can get to Sunday and get in contention I can win. The biggest problem so far is it’s hard to get in contention every week.
“I wish I was a little more disciplined with my mind and that’s probably held me back a little bit. I’m sure everybody can say that at some point. If I could get a little bit more control of that I think I could have won some more tournaments, but I still have that opportunity.”
