Royal County Down is without doubt one of the most lovely programs on the planet, a picturesque slice of heaven that sits on the foothills of the Mourne Mountains alongside the Irish Sea.
However it’s also brutally powerful, so powerful that it may host the Open Championship yr after yr—though that would result in extra psychological breakdowns amongst tour execs than we want to see.
Nonetheless, the Championship Hyperlinks in Newcastle, Northern Eire, welcome one of the best gamers on the DP World Tour for this week’s Amgen Irish Open, which returns to Royal County Down for the primary time since 2015. That yr, Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark received in a playoff over Bernd Wiesberger and Eddie Pepperell, as all three gamers completed their 72 holes at 2-under-par.
Shane Lowry, who received the 2009 Irish Open at County Louth Golf Membership as an newbie, believes scores can be increased than that this week.
“I forgot how arduous it was. It’s going to be an unbelievable check,” Lowry mentioned Wednesday.
“I believe it could possibly be one of many highest-winning scores ever in a European Tour occasion this week. Would I take stage par and sit right here and wait? Probably. That’s how powerful it’s going to be.”
Certainly, 4 straight days of taking pictures an even-par 71 on Royal County Down’s Championship Hyperlinks would go away any professional golfer glad and smiling. Par is an effective rating, even in benign circumstances. However you by no means know when rain can race down the mountains and interrupt a pleasant day. It occurs within the blink of an eye fixed, and the wind can even shift at a second’s discover. That, after all, solely makes Royal County Down even tougher.
“It appears to be like such as you simply attempt to hit the entrance edge of each inexperienced and attempt to make par on each gap, and I believe if you happen to try this, you’ll be okay,” Lowry added.
“I believe this course can be concerning the misses and lacking in the precise place. I tee off in about 24 hours. So I’ve 24 hours to determine the place to overlook it on each gap and attempt to simply handle my manner across the course fairly nicely as a result of I believe this week, it’s not going to be about your good pictures. It is going to be about your dangerous pictures and ensuring they aren’t too dangerous and don’t get you in an excessive amount of hassle.”
Bother within the type of gorse, deep tough, and punishing bunkers lurk throughout Royal County Down. The huge sand dunes that give this course its character are absolute no-gos, too. Additionally they create dozens of blind pictures, which makes any participant, even a professional, very uncomfortable.
“Look, that is only a powerful golf course,” Lowry added.
“It’s a tricky check, and it’ll take a number of good golf, a number of endurance, and holing a number of par putts. It should take a number of good things to do nicely this week.”
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. Make sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.
