Rory McIlroy’s defence of his Amgen Irish Open crown, won in dramatic fashion at The K Club in 2025, didn’t quite pan out the way the back-to-back Masters champion had envisioned, but he was more than happy to make way for his close friend Shane Lowry to step into the limelight.
And though Lowry has had his struggles getting over the line in tournaments – his last victory came at the BMW PGA Championship in 2022 – McIlroy believed it was only a matter of time before Lowry found himself back in the winner’s circle.
“Like I said to Shane afterwards, on Sunday, form is temporary and class is permanent,” McIlroy told the press at Wentworth where he’s getting ready for another appearance in the DP World Tour’s flagship event. “He is that caliber of a player we all know he is. It was just a matter of him getting back to that point and winning a tournament.
“I think him finishing it off in emphatic style the way he did, I think it will do a lot for him, and it will hopefully do a lot for him with how he approaches final rounds going forward because I think he would admit himself that final rounds have been a struggle over the last couple years for him.”
McIlroy was near completing his tournament and week when Lowry set off from the first tee at Doonbeg, but the six-time major champion couldn’t help but be impressed with how Lowry set about dismantling the competition.
“I think for him to go out, shoot 63 on the final day, leading your national Open with all that crowd support behind you – he really went out there, and he grabbed the tournament by the throat and made it his. It was amazing to see,” McIlroy explained, and added that he’d been a regular sounding board and a source of support for Lowry over the past seven or eight months.
“He alluded to it on Sunday night as well. He’s had some hard times this year, and we’ve had some chats and heart-to-hearts about it. All I can try to be is a good friend and provide encouragement and maybe provide examples of what I’ve tried to do in those circumstances.
“Yeah, as I said, I think it was only a matter of time. It was amazing to see.”
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