THE OF IRELAND
Incredible Open victory at Portrush has lost none of its romance in the two years since he lifted the Claret Jug
Sixty eight years after The Open’s only other visit to the Emerald Isle, an Irishman beat all international rivals on Irish shores. Shane Lowry’s links masterclass at Portrush in 2019 will go down in the annals of Ireland’s sporting history and popular folklore – Finn Maccool with a 3-iron!
Lowry has been Champion Golfer for two years because of the pandemic, but even with extra time for reflection, he finds it surreal to recall the biggest week of his sporting life. Speaking on The Open Podcasts, the 32-yearold remembers the final moments at Portrush: “Walking down 18, I said to my caddie Bo, looking at the leaderboard, ‘I cannot believe it’s me up there’. It’s one of the strangest feelings. It was like an out of body experience.”
Lowry produced one of the most exceptional and complete golfing performances to triumph in front of ecstatic home fans at Portrush. Singing and shouting him home, there was an
atmosphere unlike any other seen in individual strokeplay.
Lowry’s momentous Open triumph was not the first time he had delighted Irish fans. In 2009, while still an amateur, he won the Irish Open at County Louth. Coming through a play-off against Robert Rock and battling extremely testing conditions in round four, Lowry displayed great resilience and shot-making to get the job done, relishing rather than folding under the pressure of home support.
It was an experience that would stand him in good stead ten years later.
Turning pro after that success, Lowry enjoyed solid results and stepped up another level in 2015, winning the Wgc-bridgestone Invitational at Firestone. At the 2016 US Open, Lowry held a four-shot lead going into the fourth round, but struggled to a 76 on the final day and ended up losing out to Dustin Johnson. Much like his Irish Open win, that near miss was an experience Lowry would draw upon at Portrush.
Lowry comes from a different mould to the standard modern tournament pro. With a twinkle in his eye, he’ll happily say he sometimes enjoys a beer or two when the occasion demands. But his laid-back style belies his obvious dedication and determination to get the very most from his game.
Don’t be fooled
“I’m a bit misunderstood. I think people have a perception of me that, ‘Oh, he drinks a few pints and plays a bit of golf and happens to be good,’” he says. “But there have been years of hard work with my team. We’ve had ups and
downs, arguments, make-ups. Everything. For it all to come together that week in Portrush, I feel unbelievably fortunate.”
Lowry was one of six players from Ireland or Northern Ireland to tee it up. Four of the others were Major winners: Padraig Harrington, Graeme Mcdowell, Darren Clarke and hotly supported Rory Mcilroy. Partly for that reason and partly because he had missed the cut in his last four Open starts, Lowry dodged some of the pre-tournament hype.
“I felt like I could come in under the radar,” says the man from County Offaly. “Of course, Irish people were cheering for me, but it was mostly about Rory in the build-up.”
It wasn’t to be for Rory. He hit his opening tee shot out of bounds and racked up an eight. Although he fought back with a second-round 65, he missed the cut by one. Lowry may have done a good job of avoiding attention in the run-up, but when he stood on the 1st tee at 7.52am on Thursday morning, the enormity of the event struck home.
“I couldn’t believe the crowds for that early in the morning,” he says. “It’s definitely the most nervous I’ve ever been on the 1st tee of any tournament. You just want to make a par, even a bogey. You just want to get off and running.”
Lowry did get off and running. He secured his par, and five birdies helped him card a 67. As one of the early finishers, he wasn’t sure how the number would stack up. “I played such good golf I wasn’t certain it was a good score. But as the day went on, I was leading. J.B. Holmes birdied the last to pass me, but I realised then how good my score was.”
Lowry followed up with a second-round 67 to tie Holmes at the top, with Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood a shot back. The Irishman had started supremely steadily, but moved up a gear on a thrilling Saturday, firing an incredible back-nine 30 to shoot a courserecord 63 and send Irish fans into raptures. “It was the most unbelievable 80 minutes of my golfing career,” he says. “To birdie 15, then hit 4-iron on Calamity in to ten feet and hole that. When you walk over the hill on 17 and see the crowd and grandstands down 18... wow!”
The crowds may have been celebrating Lowry’s 63 and a four-shot lead over Fleetwood as if he’d already won, but past experience showed the job wasn’t done – remember Oakmont in 2016? Lowry did, and so did the press.
“I knew that question would get asked,” he says. “But some weeks you’re just mentally better than others, and the mental state I was in was just incredible.” Despite that, caddie ‘Bo’ Martin played a crucial role in keeping him grounded during the long wait to play on Sunday. “All I could think about is standing on the 18th green with the Claret Jug and that was getting way ahead of myself,” Lowry says. “I kept
“After holing on 15, I really felt that I could win it, with bogeys even”
saying to Bo, ‘You need to keep talking to me because I’m away with the faeries! I’m gone.’” If he was nervous on Thursday, the feeling intensified as he prepared to tee off on Sunday.
A crucial moment
“The wind was in a different direction so I couldn’t hit 3-iron like I wanted,” he said. “I just couldn’t wait to get the ball off the tee.” Lowry’s opening 2-iron found an awkward spot in sand, and while Fleetwood gave himself a birdie putt, the Irishman was struggling to save bogey. It could have been a three-shot swing but Lowry holed for five, Fleetwood missed and the gap was reduced by only one. It was a pivotal opening hole and Lowry knew it.
“I really felt then it was going to take a lot to beat me,” he says. In testing weather, Lowry was right. Displaying skilful flight control and a sublime touch around the greens, Lowry dug deep to hold firm. The challenging conditions were reflected in some of the scoring – Holmes carded a whopping 87.
Good early rounds from Francesco Molinari and Bob Macintyre saw them climb the board, but most later starters were clinging on for dear life in the wind and rain. None did so more effectively than Lowry. “Shane went out with a four-shot lead and was brilliant,” said runner-up Fleetwood. “He controlled the day.” The Englishman’s hopes went with a double on 14 and, when Lowry birdied the next, the Irishman’s lead was six. ”After holing on 15, I really felt I could win it, with bogeys even,” he says. “Jean van de Velde would have been happy if I didn’t win it from there as people might have stopped talking about him!”
Fortunately, there was no late drama, and Lowry was able to enjoy the walk to and the emotional scenes around the 18th green with friends and family. “That was the coolest thing, everybody standing at the back of the 18th. I wouldn’t have got there without them,” he says. “Gmac was there, Padraig Harrington, Gary Murphy, who took care of me when I turned pro, and my mum and dad. Handing my dad the Claret Jug was unbelievable.”
In the two years since Portrush, Lowry’s form has been mixed and he was down to 44th in the world at the time of writing. But a T4th finish in the USPGA means it would be a brave call to rule him out at Royal St George’s. If he finds the right combination of focus and feel, he can challenge any week, especially on difficult golf courses in difficult conditions.
And having tasted Open success, Lowry wants more. “I’d love to be able to experience it again,” he says. “That’s the reason I’ll go out and practise this afternoon. Why I get up every day is to try and experience that again… I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington successfully defended The Open title 13 years ago to keep the Claret Jug a second year. Could his countryman Lowry go one better at St George’s and keep it for three? Why not…
* Quotes courtesy of The R&A.
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