SHANE LOWRY

The Offaly golfer is the last Irishman to win his national Open and will go into the final round at Mount Juliet as the leading home player, ...

"I’m just maintaining my game and I’ll practice the way I always practice, I'll round up a couple of my friends to go to Portmarnock - if they'll have me - or Baltray or somewhere and have a game of golf and enjoy myself as well." Lowry, along with 10 of the top 11 players in the world, Tiger Woods and other stars of the game are heading to Adare to the JP McManus Pro-Am on Monday. Having started the day three behind the leaders, he endured a day he will want to forget in a hurry when the cherry on top of an impressive year was Irish Open homecoming and a pair of 68s had put him in contention. After banging in four birdies on Friday evening to ensure his presence at the Thomastown venue for the weekend, the last Irishman to win his national open didn't think that the onus would be on him to lead the home charge. "I still think I'm too far back on a golf course that scoreable to have a chance," acknowledged the 35-year-old, who is tied for 17th. Making up 27 places on the field, Lowry is still seven shots adrift of impressive leader Adrian Meronk - who made four birdies and a bogey in his last five holes on his way to a 68.

And that frustration got the better of Lowry, as he launched into a swear-laden rant midway through his second round. The Irishman dropped a number of 'F-bombs' ...

The Irishman dropped a number of 'F-bombs' in a row after hitting one particularly poor shot. With that being said, Lowry needs a big push for the rest of his back nine if he is to make the cut for the weekend. As the outburst occurred at just 3:30pm in the day, Sky Sports commentators to rushed to apologise for Lowry's language.

Lowry was up to minus-seven for the tournament at one point, just four shots off the tournament leader.

And that despite a costly 75 in round two. “I was pretty happy with the way I played today,” said the Offaly man who won this tournament as an amateur in 2009. That was where the momentum stalled with five successive pars followed by a first bogey, at the par-four 16th.

The chances of a home winner at the 2022 Horizon Irish Open appear all but over as Seamus Power endured a disastrous third round that saw him fall outside ...

There was one blemish on his card though, as he dropped a shot at the par-four 16th. When he did get going, the Waterford man found the conditions tough to excel in, with one birdie – at 13 – being accompanied by four bogeys and a double bogey at 15. The Offaly man hit a 68 to move to seven-under, seven strokes off top spot.

Spain's Jorge Campillo set the pace at the halfway stage of the Horizon Irish Open as home favourite Shane Lowry staged a grandstand finish to make the cut ...

“I should have been a lot better, but that’s kind of a bit like how I’ve been on the main tour. “Today was a little tougher than yesterday and I managed to play OK as well, so I’m quite happy about it. “Everybody knows how much this tournament means to me and how much I want to be here. “I played nicely today, it just didn’t happen early on. “It was pretty cool,” Lowry said with considerable understatement. Fourth birdie in a row.

The final day of the Horizon Irish Open takes place on Sunday at the Mount Juliet course in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny...

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