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The Open 2019: Shane Lowry struggles to believe outstanding achievement after winning maiden major

The Irishman started four shots ahead and held his nerve amid the gale to win by six

Tom Kershaw
Royal Portrush
Sunday 21 July 2019 20:38 BST
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The Open Championship in numbers

After sweeping through a torrential rainstorm to clinch Open Championship glory at Royal Portrush, a still disbelieving Shane Lowry said his feat would take days to sink in and promised he’ll be sure to blearily savour them before attempting to back up his success.

The Irishman started four shots ahead, after a spectacular eight-under-par 63 in Saturday’s sunshine broke the course record on the new Dunluce Links, and held his nerve amid the gale to win by six.

Lowry was initially pushed by his final round partner, Tommy Fleetwood, who immediately closed the gap to three shots on the first hole, but after Lowry defied the conditions to make the turn in level par, all those in pursuit were washed away.

Speaking in the Champion’s press conference, Lowry was still struck in awe of his achievement: “It's just incredible to be sitting here with a trophy in front of me,” he said giddily. “Look at the names on it. Yeah, I just can't believe -- like I said, I couldn't believe that it was me. I couldn't believe it was happening. I thought about it all day but I didn't really let myself think about it until I hit my tee shot on 17. As soon as I hit that tee shot I knew that I couldn't really lose a ball from there, and that's how I felt.

“It was just incredible to walk down 18. The crowd is going wild. Singing "Olé, Olé.” I just couldn't believe it was happening to me.”

On the eve of the tournament, Lowry had sat in the nearby Bushmills Inn with his swing coach, Neil Manchip, dwelling on the flaws in his game and how they could be overcome. Twelve months after crying in the car park at Carnoustie after a dismal opening round at last year’s Open, he laughed at the fickleness of the sport with his legacy now written alongside a brilliant generation of Irish golfers.

“I suppose I didn't even know going out this morning if I was good enough to win a major,” he said. “I just went out there and tried to give my best. And look, I'm here now, a major champion. I can't believe I'm saying it, to be honest. I think the people around me really believed that I could, which helped me an awful lot.”

Shane Lowry is still struggling to come to terms with his acheivement 

Lowry also redeemed his traumatic downfall at The US Open three years ago where he squandered a lead by the same margin on the final day at Oakmont and admitted he’d carried those memories with him to the first tee.

“I struggled last night because we finished very late,” he said. “I slept for about four or five hours last night, and I normally throw a good 8, 10 hours at it. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about all sorts and I was awake at half 6:00 this morning.

“Look, I think I knew that I had to fight to the bitter end today, and that's what helped me. I always said after Oakmont, if I could have got the last four holes back, I'd give anything to be standing on the 14th fairway again. I knew today that I was going to have to fight to the very end, and I did.”

Victory has already propelled Lowry to a No 17 world ranking and put him on track to make his first Ryder Cup appearance at Whistling Straits next year. An ambition he’s always carried, brought closer into reality, even if that soberness will be waylaid over a few days of celebration.

“In the short-term, I'm going to enjoy this, there's no doubt about that,” he laughed knowingly. “But in the long-term, you obviously want to back up your success. My big goal still remains the same and that is to be on the plane going to Whistling Straits next year. That's my plan for the next 12 months. I have a lot to play for now so I've got a busy few months ahead of me and I'm very excited.

“But I'm really going to enjoy this first.”

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