Shane Lowry took advantage of a fine draw to move into a clear lead on day two of the Open, and anyone who finishes ahead of the Irishman this week will have a fantastic chance to get their hands on the Claret Jug.
It’s something Lowry has done before, of course, and from the front, too. Somehow, it’s hard to escape the feeling that he’s more likely to go ahead and boss this tournament than he would be in a run-of-the-mill tour event, with the stage and the conditions both bringing out his best.
First in approach play and second in putting, Lowry’s best is what we’ve been treated to so far and with the inexperienced Daniel Brown alongside him in the final group, prices of 2/1 and 25/1 respectively are hard to argue with – even if we almost never see such a chasm between two who’ve played similarly so far.
Dangers to Lowry likely lurk further down the leaderboard and at the prices, JUSTIN ROSE stands out. This would be some story were the US Open winner and former world number one to win having come through qualifying, but it’s absolutely possible and he’s done everything well to this point.
Given that his side of the draw averaged two strokes more than Lowry’s, Rose’s performance so far can be called equal to that of the Irishman and while I’ve said before that I don’t know as he’s a links natural in the way that Lowry is, his performance so far speaks for itself.
Among the later matches, Lowry is probably a fair price even at 1/2 given that this is a massive day for Brown, who arrived with no real form to speak of and has of course never been close to the lead in a major before.
Many will doubtless be keen to bump up multiple prices with Lowry but I’ll stick to JOAQUIN NIEMANN (1455 BST) and ROSE (1535).
Niemann is playing with Matty Jordan, a proven links performer who is enjoying another excellent Open to this point, and is a player I really like.
That being said, prices dictate and Niemann is a world-class golfer quoted at 4/5, despite having matched Jordan from a much worse draw. It feels big to me.
Finally, Rose has been three shots better than Horschel and with tee-times taken into account, it’s more like five. With that in mind, evens and upwards rates an obvious selection.
Posted at 0830 BST on 20/07/24
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