A sensational front nine from Shane Lowry during his second round at the Amgen Irish Open saw the Offaly man move into the clubhouse lead in Doonbeg, while Tom McKibbin remains in the mix at the halfway stage.
Lowry carded a course record round of 62 that included nine birdies as he opened a three-stroke lead at the top of the leaderboard on 11-under par, with a number of players yet to complete their round.
McKibbin went one shot lower than Thursday’s 68 to move to five under, half a dozen shots adrift of Lowry. Rory McIlroy failed to make any serious inroads on the leaders, making it back-to-back 69s to sit on two under.
The Masters champion enjoyed an eagle at the par-5 eighth, where a mosterous approach shot paved the way for a round highlight. That bit of magic was more than balanced out however by three bogeys, including at last.
Lowry however is the man to catch.
Having started the day a shot off the lead after a marathon six-hour 10-minute slog around Trump International Golf Links on Thursday, the 39-year-old signalled his intention to back up his national title win as an amateur in 2009.
Winless in four years as an individual and a challenging 2026 that saw more lows than highs, Lowry was fast out of the traps in County Clare where the conditions were far more favourable today.
Starting at the third, he reeled off three bridies in a row, the most eye-catching a 22-footer at the par-5 fourth hole.
Shane Lowry moves into a tie for the lead!
Back-to-back birdies for the Offaly man as he makes it a quartet at -5
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 11, 2026
A superb approach at the fifth allowed him move into an outright lead for the first time.
While McKibbin and McIlroy dropped shots at the seventh, there was no such concern for Lowry, draining his putt from almost 25 feet to start another sequence of three successive birdies, where controlled iron play saw him complete the front nine in 30 strokes.
🔥🔥Shane Lowry🔥🔥
A fourth birdie of the day, and Shane Lowry is in dream land in Doonbeg!
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 11, 2026
Four clear of the field, ambitions of a round of 59 were very much alive.
Saving par at the 10th after hacking out of the long grass felt like a shot gained, before normal service was quickly resumed.
An immaculate tee shot at the par-3 11th saw Lowry extend the lead to five strokes, with a steady putt on 12 impressing the local crowd no end as he carded an eighth birdie of the round.
The first blot on the copybook came at the 13th after three putting his way to a bogey, but that was cancelled out two holes later.
A solid drive down the fairway at 15 saw Lowry plot his way to the green, 135 yards to the pin. Stitching it to within 19 feet, he again demonstrated his red-hot putter to move to 11 under, his ninth and final birdie of an incredible afternoon as he closed out with three pars.
🚨COURSE RECORD🚨
It’s a sizzling 62 for Shane Lowry, who has taken this #AmgenIrishOpen by the scruff of the neck!
📺 🖥️ Watch live on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer #RTESport pic.twitter.com/JZn3hqORBZ— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 11, 2026
Lowry, who won the event as a 22-year-old amateur in Baltray, said earlier this week that his recent three-week break should stand him in good stead for another tilt at the Irish Open and a bit of tournament history.
Not since Fred Daly and Harry Bradshaw in 1946 and 1947 has there been back-to-back Irish Open winners from the island of Ireland.
“I played great, I just kept going,” he told RTÉ Sport. “I felt like I was very in control today. It was good fun out there and it’s been a while since I had that much fun on the golf course.”
Asked whether he had given thought to a round of 59 at any stage, he said: “I did think about it until I three-putted 13. I did have a little look. I went out in 30 and the back nine is 34, so you do think about it a little bit.
“I was very good at the job at hand today. I know I made a little mistake on 13, but I think I did a good job after that.”
With a large portion of the field yet to complete their round as Lowry signed his scorecard, the Offaly man admitted he isn’t giving thoughts of a second Irish Open title too much consideration just yet.
“There is a long way to go yet,” he said. “There are going to be some elements over the weekend and it’s going to be a bit of a battle, but one thing is for sure, I’m in a good position.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had that much fun on the golf course”
Shane Lowry was all smiles as he lapped up the positive feeling from his blistering 62 on day two of the Amgen Irish Open pic.twitter.com/Q9fSOLP2m4
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 11, 2026
Max Kennedy will play no further part this weekend after a 71. A birdie at the 10th – his second of the round – saw the 24-year-old move to level par and inside the projected cut, but dropping four shots over the subsequent four holes saw him slip outside the cut line.
Watch the Amgen Irish Open from Thursday to Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player