Unlikely hero Lowry lifts Claret Jug after six-shot win at Royal Portrush
Irish man catapulted into super-stardom with first Major win
Last updated 21st Jul 2019
After four days on the Open rollercoaster, one unassuming Irishman emerged victorious ...NIGEL GOULD witnessed the unveiing of golf's new superstar
The ear-splitting roar that accompanied Shane Lowry''s arrival at the 18th hole for the final time at the 148th Open, was something to behold ...
By the time he'd slotted home his last putt to secure the famous Claret Jug, his first-ever Major and bank nearly $2m in prize-money - the huge throng of rain-sodden partisan spectators - seven deep around Babington's - had burst into a serenade of Oles..
It was the sort of reaction that rock superstars or A-list celebrities are accustomed to - rather than a self-effacing 32-year-old from the small town of Clara in Co Offaly.
Royal Portrush had never seen anything quite like it the like of it- an atmosphere that will live long in the memory of tens of thousands of were there to see one of the tournament's most popular ever winners.
Afterwards, Lowry paid tribute to the spectators.
"It was an incredible feeling," he said. "The crowd was immense.
"I even spotted a few I knew,"
A third-round score of 63 had powered Lowry four shots clear of the field on Saturday evening, with Southport’s Fleetwood beginning Sunday as his closest challenger.
On a day where tee-off times were brought forward to avoid a forecast of late-afternoon wind and monsoon-like rain, Lowry didn't have the best of starts as he bogeyed the first hole.
However, a birdie on the fourth took him into a five-shot lead on Fleetwood, who had already missed a couple of birdie opportunities. That was followed up by another birdie on the fifth..
After that, the crowd which swelled in numbers with every hole, was treated to the sort of ebb and flow drama that pervaded Days 1 to 3.
First, Lowry moved to -18 and a six-shot lead on Fleetwood after a birdie on the seventh.
Then, a dropped shot from Lowry on the eighth went unpunished as Fleetwood could not manage more than a bogey himself but when Lowry pulled a putt left at the ninth, a Fleetwood par closed the gap to five.
On the back nine, Lowry steadied the ship while Fleetwood struggled with the windy conditions.
By the time they reached the 14th - there was just no stopping the Irish man. As the cheers got louder, Lowry rose to the occasion.
He eventually took arguably golf's greatest prize by six shots.
And as he surveyed the media posse in the post-match interview room, Lowry said he was struggling to comprehend what he had just achieved.
But for the tens of thousands who cheered on every drive, chip and putt, this was no fluke.
And the feeling among the world's golfing experts is that this will be the start of something special for the sport's quiet man.