Players Voice Frustration Over Pace Of Play At Amgen Irish Open

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry wait at the tee box at the Irish Open — Players faced long waits during the first round of the Amgen Irish Open

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The first round of the Amgen Irish Open was played at a glacial pace, with players taking as long as six hours to complete 18 holes at Trump National Doonbeg.

Two of the biggest names in the field are defending champion Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, who both had their say on the pace of play afterwards.

Conditions were challenging throughout with rain and strong winds contributing to a tough day, as McIlroy admitted.

He said: “Yeah, it was. I think there was a couple of things that were tough today. Obviously the wind and the strength of the wind was one thing, and then the pace of play.”

On that subject, McIlroy cited two reasons - the layout and the size of the field, which began with 139 players before Marcel Schneider withdrew after 14 holes.

Rory McIlroy at the Amgen Irish Open — Rory McIlroy admitted it had been a tough day at the Amgen Irish Open

He explained: “This course isn't conducive to sort of letting you get in a flow. Especially the first two days with so many people in the field, there's a lot of stopping and starting.

“Yeah, I think, look, it's hard when you have to, when you're playing a round of golf and it takes six hours it's hard to get into the rhythm of things.”

Despite the stop-start nature of proceedings, McIlroy had a solid enough day, finishing on one-under following a 69, four back of overnight leader Joaquin Niemann.

He admitted he was satisfied with his performance, saying: “But felt like I did a good job. After making the double bogey on 13 I was just trying to get those two shots back by the end of the day. Didn't quite do that, but I think finishing under par for the day was a reasonable effort.”

Lowry is in an even better position following his three-under 67, although he doesn’t think he’s played a longer round as part of a three-ball.

Shane Lowry at the Irish Open — Shane Lowry was also frustrated with the pace of play

He said: “Yeah, it was pretty good. Look, you knew going out that you needed to make some birdies early on on those par-5s that were downwind. I felt like I did that. Then when I turned around, I felt like I did a solid job of making pars and trying to get to the clubhouse as quick as I could.

“I honestly didn't think we were going to get finished. That's probably the longest round of golf I ever played, in a three-ball anyway. I'm happy with my score.”

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.