Shane Lowry is certain to attract attention at The Open Championship this month, with the event returning to the site of his 2019 win.
Lowry recently returned to Royal Portrush in a bid to get to grips with the course ahead of The Open Championship, which takes place there from July 17-20.
The Irishman clinched the Claret Jug at the Northern Irish course six years ago, representing his only major championship win to date.
Lowry stormed to a six-shot triumph that year, seeing off competition from his final round partner Tommy Fleetwood.
The former ended his tournament on 15-under to clinch the title, carding a total score of 269 after rounds of 67, 67, 63 and 72.
Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty ImagesShane Lowry ‘hated’ one shot at Royal Portrush in 2019 despite his win at The Open Championship
It is a week that the 38-year-old will never forget, with Lowry having now analysed his victory for The R&A.
Discussing his final round with Fleetwood, he said: “I think he had a putt over on the 12th green to get to three behind.
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“I think he had an eagle put there. And then I made a good up and down on 13, and then he doubled 14, and I made bogey and I went five ahead there.
“Honestly the stuff that goes through your head in that situation is wild, but I wouldn’t allow myself to, like, breathe a sigh relief until after 17.
“I hated the 17th tee shot that week for some reason. Kind of a blind tee shot. So once I got that out of the way, I was pretty happy after that.”
What Shane Lowry told his caddie right before winning The Open in 2019
Helping Lowry secure the unforgettable victory was his caddie Brian ‘Bo’ Martin, who he has since split with.
Lowry parted ways with Martin in 2023, with the Northern Irishman since turning his focus to Min Woo Lee.
READ MORE: What Shane Lowry’s caddie said to him when he picked up his ball without marking it during round two of the US Open
But he played a crucial role in his homeland back in 2019, with Lowry also sharing insight into their walk down the 18th fairway shortly before his success.
“I definitely told him I loved him,” said the Irishman. “Not so sure that’s the case anymore. No, I think it’s just… I was going to say disbelief, but it’s not disbelief because you always believe you can do something like that.
“But I think it’s just a lot of relief at that stage, because I built it up so much that morning. I actually remember walking down here and soaking it all in.
“And if you look at the videos back, Tommy was beside me, and obviously, you know, it’s not a great situation for him, out there trying to win The Open and he’s not doing it. And there were probably not many people on the course who wanted him to win that day.”
Lowry was in stunning form that week in Northern Ireland, but he has largely failed to recreate such form at this year’s majors.
He finished T42 at The Masters, and followed that up by missing the cut at both the PGA Championship and the US Open.
PositionPlayerScoreTo par1Shane Lowry67-67-63-72=269−152Tommy Fleetwood68-67-66-74=275−93Tony Finau68-70-68-71=277−7T4Brooks Koepka68-69-67-74=278−6Lee Westwood68-67-70-73=278T6Rickie Fowler70-69-66-74=279−5Tyrrell Hatton68-71-71-69=279 Robert MacIntyre68-72-71-68=279Danny Willett74-67-65-73=27910Patrick Reed71-67-71-71=280−42019 Open Championship final leaderboard
Lowry has been frustrated recently, although he has come close to securing a fourth PGA Tour win this season, finishing as runner-up on two occasions.
Those near misses, which arrived at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Truist Championship, should give him plenty of confidence for Portrush.
