“I’d be lying if I said Love Island wasn’t on!” – Shane Lowry on his Open routine

"I do the same things every person my age does."

Back in 2008/09, before he embarked on an unforgettable season, Brian O'Driscoll watched back on highlights of his best tries and performances to remind himself of what he was capable of. Shane Lowry has been doing something similar at The Open. Lowry leads a stellar field of golf superstars by four shots after blitzing the 'new course' at Portrush and carding a stunning round of 63 to go -16. The score is a record for 54 holes at The Open Championship and Lowry is well set for a run at claiming The Claret Jug. Following his latest round in the 60s, Lowry faced the press and spoke about his routine away from Royal Portrush.

"To bring myself down, I watched myself on TV. I watched the highlights on the BBC. "We have a house this week. I've got my wife and kid, and coach, and a couple of friends in there. My brother is here tonight so we do the same thing we do every night - watch TV."

Lowry was then asked if he watched anything else, aside from the highlights, and professed himself to be a follower of Love Island, and show newcomer Greg O'Shea (the Irish Sevens rugby star).

"I'd be lying if I said Love Island wasn't on! We've got a good Irishman in there, now, so... "No, look, I do the same things every person my age does. Just chill out; do nothing. Lie back on the couch and watch TV. There's not much else on TV so, yeah."

Once his final round gets underway, Lowry will follow a golfing superstition that he has stuck to for a number of years. He begins each round with eight white tees in his bag. Even if one breaks, he does not replace it and the goal is to get through the round with at least a few tees intact before replenishing them for the next outing. Whatever routine and superstitions Lowry is sticking to, it is obviously working a charm this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEJzLbSaTWA The fans will be out in vocal support for the Clara native and he'll be hoping the Sunday highlights finish with The Claret Jug cradled in his arms.