The area around the first tee acts like a magnet to those who have made their way to golfing paradise.
The diehards make sure to get there in time for the honorary starters as the legends of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and new kid Tom Watson strike out without the need to actually follow their drives and someone else is tasked with collecting the balls.
But, thereafter, the real business gets under way. No mulligans, every shot counting.
And, by the time Shane Lowry moved from the driving range and the short game area to the putting green behind the first tee, the atmosphere had moved on from polite applause. A giddy electricity hung in the air, as those with prized tickets in plastic holders crowded around the tee box.
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For Lowry, in the minutes beforehand, it was all about getting good putting vibes. His putting guru Stephen Sweeney, a Donegal man, and his coach Neil Manchip, a Scot with a passion for Mayo and its search for redemption in its quest for the Sam Maguire Cup, stood attentively with watching briefs as the son of an Offaly All-Ireland winner went about his business.
The pre-round putting didn’t quite work to plan, with more missed putts than holed during the routine. At least those putts didn’t make there way on to the scorecard but there was a sick-in-the-stomach feeling among those watching that the malaise on the practice putting green had ventured on to the course itself when Lowry missed a three-footer for birdie on the very first green.
“That was a bit of a shock to the system but I have been working hard and got some good feelings (back),” remarked Lowry some five hours after that misdemeanour, having signed for an opening round four-under-par 68 that gave him the basis for moving on forward in that quest for a green jacket.
Lowry’s army of supporters in the crowd was a sizeable crew, his partisan followers noticeable at times by their attire.
There has been a growing inclination among them over time to don GAA jerseys, almost as a mark of honour. And so on this first day of competition were the Carroll Meats of Offaly, the Brady Ham of Kildare, the Devenish of Meath and Portwest of Mayo on show.
Numbered among those who walked all 18 holes was, too, a former European Tour winner in the shape of Damien McGrane who made his way outside the ropes rather than as a focus of attention within them.
And, in managing to put aside that golden opportunity for birdie on the first, Lowry’s putter went from cold to lukewarm and finally heated up.
A long 35 footer for birdie on the seventh hole kick-started a birdie run and, by the time Lowry walked off the ninth green, he had mustered three successive birdies to turn in 33 strokes.
His only bogey of the round came on the 11th, where he was blocked out by trees for his approach, but Lowry managed further birdies at the 15th and from 12 feet on the 18th to close in style.
After hitting that approach shot to the last, Lowry turned to his caddie Darren Reynolds. “That was a pretty good round of golf.” It was, and the birdie putt to finish added the gloss.
“I think it was important to shoot a good score today. I was trying not to put too much pressure on myself to do so, but, yeah, I knew going into today how important today’s round is because who knows what the next three days are going to hold?” said Lowry.
When it was all over, his scorecard submitted, Lowry’s work on the course was done. A third placed finished behind Scottie Scheffler had enabled Lowry to approach this year’s edition with increased confidence and he had marked out the date and made no fewer than three advance trips in his attempt to make himself ever more at home amid the cathedral pines.
“Over the last three, four months, since Christmas basically, I have had this week circled in my calendar and it is what I have been working towards.
“Results have not gone my way this season but I feel like I always try to find the positives and I feel like there has been plenty of positives happened this season already. I am out there trying to use them this week and I am out there trying to play my best golf.
“I am here to give myself a chance to do it. If I can go around Amen Corner on Sunday with a chance to win the Masters it would be very special. I felt I gave myself some sort of a chance last year and it was very enjoyable. It is something I want to experience again. It is about the next few days and about giving myself a chance to win,” said Lowry after getting off to a strong start.
As he has shown in his professional career, Lowry is a big time player. His CV includes a Major, a WGC and the European Tour flagship among his prizes.
“I tried to play good golf. I felt I was very much in control of myself and my game. A 68 ties the best-ever score I’ve shot around here and this is my eighth Masters, so it is not a golf course you can go out and shoot mid-60s day after day.
“It is a tricky course. It can get away from you. Thankfully, today was a good day and I am happy with that.”
