Shane Lowry enjoyed a few glasses of wine with Tyrrell Hatton on Thursday night (Image: GETTY)
Shane Lowry believes a drinking session with Tyrrell Hatton helped him to play ‘carefree golf’ in his second round at the Spanish Open. The 37-year-old carded five birdies and no bogeys in his five-under-par round, which saw him move into the top 25 on the leaderboard.Lowry made a slow start on Thursday, finishing his opening round on four-over-par which left him scrambling to make the cut. He managed to turn things around on Friday, though, ending the day on one-under-par to keep himself in contention after finding his best form.After coming off the course, Lowry was asked to explain how he managed to improve so quickly and eliminate the bogeys from his game. In response, he suggested the glasses of wine he enjoyed with Hatton the night before may have helped to calm his nerves.
Lowry carded five birdies and no bogeys in his five-under-par round on Friday (Image: GETTY)
“Honestly, I had dinner with Tyrrell Hatton last night and we probably had a couple too many glasses of wine,” said Lowry. “Maybe that made me play a bit freer today! I just went out and played carefree golf. This is a funny old game.”Lowry played alongside Hatton at last year’s Ryder Cup, helping Team Europe to secure a five-point victory over the USA. Hatton is one shot better off than Lowry at the Spanish Open after a penultimate round of 66.Reflecting on his turnaround after enduring a horror session on Thursday, Lowry added: “Yesterday was tough. I felt like I played OK but I wasn’t making birdies. It’s hard to hit greens out there. I just kind of went through the motions.”I’ve been on the road a lot lately and I think it was getting to me yesterday a little bit. I relaxed a little bit today and went out there and played freely.
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“Thankfully, it was a good day to make the weekend. I don’t ever like missing cuts so I go out there and try my hardest and, thankfully, it was a good day.”After his impressive round on Friday, Lowry was all smiles after getting the chance to exchange pleasantries with football royalty. He was seen posing with former and Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard, who was among the big-name stars in attendance.Lowry, a sports fanatic, also took time out of his busy schedule to visit the Bernabeu and watch Real Madrid secure a 3-2 win over Alaves.