Rónán MacNamara in Royal Troon
Shane Lowry admits that missing out on a second Open Championship title will hurt for a while after he was left to rue a messy closing stretch on Saturday which ultimately cost him as Xander Schauffele won his second major of the season.
Schauffele becomes the first player since Pádraig Harrington in 2008 to win the PGA Championship and Open Championship in the same year while he also ensures America claims a clean sweep in the four men’s majors for the first time since 1982 where Tom Watson was the winner, also at Royal Troon.
Lowry made a promise to his long-time coach Neil Manchip that he would fight for every shot on Sunday and he certainly did that and for a brief period around the turn it looked like he may return to Portrush next year as the defending Open champion and course champion, but Saturday’s slump left him with too much to do and a 68 left him five shots shy of Schauffele who romped to victory with a fabulous back nine of 31.
“I just wanted to go out and give myself a chance today. I promised Neil I’d do one thing and go out and fight for every shot, and that’s what I did today. Unfortunately, it’s not good enough, and it’s very disappointing. There’s no two ways about it,” said Lowry who has two top-10 finishes in the majors this season.
“I had a great chance of winning this Open, and it’s going to hurt for a few days.
“I went home and Iris was there, and like she’s at the age now where she understands, and she knew that I was sad. She come over to me and said, you’ve still got a chance to win. Obviously Wendy had been saying that to her before I came in. That puts a little smile on your face.
“We actually had great chats, great laugh over dinner last night. Then myself and Neil had a good chat for 20 minutes or so. Neil just asked me to do one thing today. After Oakmont, I felt like I didn’t fight hard enough, and he said to me, you regretted that, you’re still regretting that, and he said, do me one thing, just fight for every shot today, and that’s what I did. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough, but so be it.”
Lowry cut a near distraught figure walking off the 54th green but a nod of perspective and encouragement from his daughter Iris, sent the Clara man to bed on a mission. After a slow start with a bogey on 3, Lowry caught fire and lit up the final day in Troon, rolling in four birdies in five holes in an electrifying run to the turn to raise fresh hope that the comeback was on.
A kick in biride on the par-5 4th steadied affairs before a 55-footer on the par-3 5th drew a Ryder Cup style celebration from Lowry who rode that momentum with a birdie on the 7th and the postage stamp as he gained revenge on the whole which probably cost him the Open 24 hours previous.
“I was one back after that,” Lowry reflected. “I felt I was doing the right things to give myself a lot of chances. Yeah, just a couple of key putts at the right moments, obviously I holed a couple of long putts today, but you need to hole everything on a day like today, especially to beat someone like Xander, who’s in the form he’s in.”
Ryanair may have to foot some of the bill after a plane flew over the 11th green, causing Lowry to back out of a crucial six-footer for par before missing after attempting to regather himself.
From there, chances were few and far between and a missed six footer on 16 pulled the curtain down on his already slim hopes. A birdie from just off the 17th green secured his best Open finish outside of his 2019 win.
“How could you not look back on it positively, a chance to win The Open? Obviously the critics and whatnot will say that I probably should have won from where I was yesterday afternoon, but it’s not easy out there. It’s not easy to win tournaments like this.
“I did everything I could. Unfortunately, I came up short. Hopefully over the next five to ten years I give myself another few chances in tournaments like this and get one more. Like I said at the start of the week, all I want is one more.”
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