Irish eyes smile on Shane Lowry at the Open Championship

Ireland has it’s homegrown champion, as Shane Lowry laps the field to win the Open Championship by six shots at Royal Portrush

Shane Lowry had a few things to worry about on Sunday at Royal Portrush: the pressure of trying to win his first major. The eyes of a nation rooting on a native son. And, of course, the weather. For what would an Open Championship be without the weather?

Through heavy rain and major championship pressure, Lowry held on to shoot one-over 72 and win the Open Championship by six shots over Tommy Fleetwood at 15-under.

Lowry got to this point with a near-record 63 on Saturday, taking a four-shot lead over Fleetwood into the final round. Throughout Ireland, fans were eagerly anticipating having a homegrown player win in the first Open on home soil in nearly seven decades. They gathered at Esker Hills, the golf course in County Offaly where Lowry grew up playing, and they were out in full force at Royal Portrush.

But it was a poor start for their favorite son. Lowry made a bogey at the opening hole, dropping the lead to three. He settled down from there, hitting his approach at the fourth hole from 189 yards to within 10 feet for his first birdie of the round. Not taking any risks, Lowry laid up on the driveable par-four fifth hole and got up-and-in for birdie. He then birdied the par-five seventh for his third in the last four holes.

Then the rains came. The forecast was expected to be poor, causing tee times to be moved up on Sunday. While Lowry was three-putting for bogey at the eighth the skies opened up, sending players scrambling for their jackets and scores tumbling. Lowry bogeyed the ninth, 11th and 14th holes and needed a good recovery from the greenside bunker to save par at the 13th. Fleetwood, though, was also struggling. While Lowry bogeyed the 14th, Fleetwood made double bogey and the lead was still five with four holes to play.

Lowry would put the championship away at the 15th, hitting his second shot to 10 feet and rolling in the birdie amid raucous cheers from the gallery and a fist pump from the leader. He made par at the 16th and 17th and headed to the 18th with a six-shot lead, his name already engraved on the Claret Jug. When his approach shot rolled off a mound to the right and crept closer to the green, huge cheers reverberated through the crowd while Lowry raised his arms in the air. A huge throng of fans followed Lowry up the 18th fairway. A tap-in par and the party at Royal Portrush, Esker Hills and the entire island of Ireland could begin.

The 32-year-old Irishman admitted after Saturday’s round that it was going to be a difficult 24 hours for him, and that feeling didn’t change when he teed up on Sunday.

“I did quite well, to be honest. Because I got off to a very shaky start,” he told NBC after his round, the Claret Jug safely in his arms. “The crowds were just unbelievable. I didn’t feel great out there. It was probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt on a golf course. You’re trying to win an Open in your home country and it’s just incredibly difficult.”

Fleetwood finished at nine-under after a three-over 74 on Sunday, his second career runner-up finish in a major championship. No player in the final six groups shot under-par on the day. Tony Finau’s even-par 71 was the best of that group as he jumped into third place. Brooks Koepka, usually so reliable in majors, bogeyed his first four holes and could only manage a three-over round to finish tied for fourth, becoming just the fourth player to finish in the top-four at every major in a season. But the biggest fall belongs to J.B. Holmes, who came into the round at 10-under and in third but shot 16-over on Sunday to drop to 67th.

The pressure of competing at home in Northern Ireland, where the Open was returning for the first time since 1951, was too much for the likes of Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke. But it was Lowry who managed to keep the Claret Jug at home, and he still couldn’t believe it was him even after it was all over.

“To be honest, it’s surreal. I still can’t believe it’s happening to me. I said to my caddie walking down the last, ‘I can’t believe this is me standing here. I can’t believe this is mine,” he said, looking down at the coveted trophy.

But it is his now. The Claret Jug also now belongs to all of Ireland, who are going to be celebrating late into the night. After all, they waited 68 years for this moment.