Emotion on Emerald Isle
Irishman Lowry lets the tears flow after Open victory
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The outcome was never in doubt to just about everyone but Shane Lowry.
A year ago, he sat in the parking lot at Carnoustie and cried after missing the cut in the British Open for the fourth consecutive year. Even with a four-shot lead Sunday at Royal Portrush, in a raging wind and pouring rain, Lowry kept telling his caddie he was nervous and scared, worried that he would ruin a storybook ending to the first Open in Northern Ireland in 68 years.
‘‘I suppose I didn’t even know going out this morning if I was good enough to win a major,’’ Lowry said. ‘‘And look, I’m here now, a major champion. I can’t believe I’m saying it, to be honest.’’
The Irishman marks his golf ball with a green shamrock, but this had nothing to do with luck.
With stout nerves and a soft touch around the greens, Lowry gave a sellout crowd what they wanted to see. He endured the worst weather of the week, held up under the pressure and the expectations of fans who cheered his every step and won the Open by six shots.
All he could think about was that walk up the final hole, and it was everything he imagined. Even as the rain stopped, the tears began flowing.
‘‘I can’t believe this is me standing here,’’ Lowry said as he cradled the silver claret jug. ‘‘I can’t believe this is mine.’’
Lowry closed with a 1-over-par 72, the first time since 1996 the Open champion was over par in the final round, and it was no less impressive.
More difficult than the rain was wind strong enough to break an umbrella. Lowry made four bogeys in the toughest stretch of Royal Portrush without losing ground.
No one from the last 12 groups broke par. No one got closer than three shots of Lowry all day.
‘‘It was Shane’s time, Shane’s tournament,’’ said Tommy Fleetwood, who closed with a 3-over 74 to finish as the runner-up for the second time in a major.
Thousands of fans who filled these links off the North Atlantic began to celebrate when Lowry rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole to stretch his lead to six with three holes to play.
Lowry’s smile got wider with every hole coming in. The cheers got louder.
When his approach to the 18th was just on the fringe, he stretched out his arms and hugged caddie Bo Martin, whom Lowry had leaned on with brutal honesty.
‘‘He was great at keeping me in the moment,’’ Lowry said. ‘‘I kept telling him how nervous I was, how scared I was, how much I didn’t want to mess it up. All I could think about was walking down 18 with a four- or five-shot lead, and I got to do that.’’
The loudest roar of a raucous week was for a tap-in par that made Lowry a major champion.
‘‘He’s done brilliantly,’’ Lee Westwood said after grinding out a 2-over 73 to tie for fourth. ‘‘All the chasers would have wanted tough conditions, and he’s clearly played brilliantly to be on the score he has, under the pressure he’s under.’’
Royal Portrush last hosted the Open in 1951, the only time it had been outside Scotland and England. It pinned its hopes at the start of the week on Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut by one shot.
And then along came Lowry, who had teamed with McIlroy to bring Irish golf a European Amateur title in 2007 and who had won the Irish Open as an amateur 10 years ago. He joined Padraig Harrington as the only Irishmen to win majors, while McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Fred Daly are major champions from Northern Ireland.
‘‘Everyone knows we’re all one country when it comes to golf,’’ said Lowry, who completed 72 holes at 15-under 269 and earned $1.935 million.