Q. Another solid day. Characterize how you feel after two rounds?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, obviously pretty good. 8-under after two rounds around this place is pretty good. Excited to have a late tee time here tomorrow and looking forward to the weekend.
Q. Did you use the same driver?
SHANE LOWRY: I did, yeah. It's not the driver -- I don't know if it's the driver issues, because my good ones are pretty good, it's just I don't have a lot of trust in it at the minute. There's a lot of tough tee shots out here and you really need to trust yourself. It's getting there, it felt a little better, but not as comfortable as I normally am. It's normally one of the best clubs in my bag. But I feel like when I do get it in play I can be pretty dangerous.
Q. When did you last have that trust?
SHANE LOWRY: Last week, I think my driver gave up on me last week, the one that I've been using. Yeah, I didn't drive it great around PGA National and figured there was something wrong with my driver. I've been testing a few this week. I used a different one on Sunday last week, and then tested a few on Tuesday. I found one that I really like, but it just takes a lot of trust on the course. When you get to a golf course like this there's a handful of really, really tough tee shots that you really need a great level of commitment and trust, and I'll try to do that for the weekend.
Q. When you did hit the driver, when you had the trust in it, where is the trust?
SHANE LOWRY: I hit a great tee shot up 18. 18 is one of the tougher tee shots on the course. If you miss it, you know you're going to make bogey or pretty much you probably are. So after playing 16 the way I did, hit a brutal tee shot there, to play 17, 18 the way I did I was pretty happy with myself.
Q. What was the mental process between 16 and 17?
SHANE LOWRY: I had a few choice words with myself (laughing). Still really, you know, didn't commit to my third shot. Saw Rory's pitching up by the flag and going over the green, it pulled me up a little bit, and I tried to do too much with my third shot. Then hit a lovely pitch and misread the putt, to be honest. I felt like I hit a decent putt, but I read it going left and it went right. Other than that, it was good. Yeah look, 17, you have no choice but to man up and hit a shot there. And 18's the same. So I felt like I did a good job.
Q. Yesterday yourself and Rory both spoke about the dynamic of you guys when you're paired, and he said, and you can see it in that you guys probably talk more with each other than you do other guys when you are walking. Are those conversations just about family, about golf --
SHANE LOWRY: No, everything.
Q. -- to kind of keep your kind of loose on the golf course?
SHANE LOWRY: I'm kind of a talker on the course anyway. So like if I'm playing with somebody I like and get on well with I'll have conversations in the walk between shots. It's a long day out there, so you need to occupy your mind somehow. I felt like we had a good time with doing our job at the same time. I know he's going to be frustrated with his finish, but we're both out there and both going into the weekend. When I seen the draw at the start of the week I was pretty excited about it. I know Rory's record around here, and I knew he was going to play pretty well, and I knew I was going to have to play well to keep up with him. And I'm happy with my couple day's work.
Q. Do you play off each other, and also if you're with anybody else who is playing well --
SHANE LOWRY: Look, you're out there with one of the best golfers in the world, with big crowds, great golf course, lovely weather, what's not to like? It's easy to get up for something like that. I feel like I thrive in those situations. And yeah, I enjoyed my couple of days and I feel like we did play off each other a little bit. I know he probably feels like he could be better, but he's still in a great position going into the weekend.
Q. Why do you think you seem to do well in strong conditions or strong tests?
SHANE LOWRY: I don't know. I think it's my iron play is good, and conservative when it needs to be. I think you need that around places like this. I just like the grind of pars are good, you know. There's a lot of weeks out here where you get where you shoot level par for nine holes and you feel like you're beating your head against the wall. Whereas, weeks like this, level par after nine you're actually doing okay, you're a little run away from having a lovely day. I like the type of golf where any time you break 70 you feel like you've had a good day.
Q. Do you feel like you concentrate more?
SHANE LOWRY: No, I wouldn't say I concentrate more. I honestly don't know. But I've been historically forever I've been like that. I've just enjoyed the grind of tough golf.
Q. What's the key out here especially to playing?
SHANE LOWRY: Putting the ball in play, just fairways and greens are key. If you can hit a load of greens out here, and then you're probably going to end up with four or five par putts that you need to hole at the right time, and if you can do that you can win the tournament.
Q. Have you been back to Portrush since you won?
SHANE LOWRY: I was there last year for the first time, the week of the Irish Open I was up there, the Irish Open was up in County Down and I went up for an outing on a Tuesday and it was my first time back.
Q. Was it fun?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it was great. I was playing with a sponsor, and we had a great time. And then a lovely thing afterwards in the club where I got presented honorary membership. It was nice to be back. I will be back before The Open Championship at some stage for a practice, I don't know when, but yeah, it's nice to go back. I think the guys I was playing with were fed up with me talking through the every shot I hit those four days in 2019, but, yeah, it was good fun.
Q. Anything changed?
SHANE LOWRY: There's a couple of tees are longer, I think. No. 4 is back and maybe one or, I'm not sure.
Q. How did your success here last year impact your expectations for this week?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it's funny, when you have success especially on a difficult place like this it doesn't mean you come here the next year and you have a God-given right to go and play well. You still need to play your game and execute. So I was kind of conscious of that. Even like I said to Darren this morning on the range, even though today's conditions were a lot easier than yesterday, this golf course still doesn't give you anything, so we need to really switch on and stick in today. Similar to yesterday. Yeah, I don't know, just I guess when you start to see a few good shots around here and you start to see a few putts going in it makes it a bit easier.
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