Back to news
Shane Lowry learning to embrace the struggle that paved the way to his first Open triumph
@Source: the42.ie
Advertisement
League of Ireland
Horse Racing
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture
Rugby Weekly Extra
Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week
The Football Family
Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points
Advertisement
More Stories
Shane Lowry speaks to the press.Alamy Stock Photo
lessons of victory
Shane Lowry learning to embrace the struggle that paved the way to his first Open triumph
Shane Lowry’s travails before his first win at Portrush have been forgotten – he hopes the turbulence of 2025 will be similarly lost to history.
5.43pm, 14 Jul 2025
Share options
Gavin Cooney
reports from Royal Portrush
IT’S AN IMAGE easily summoned: Shane Lowry, Claret Jug in hand, eyes shimmering behind a curtain of rain.
And like any photograph of a great triumph, its struggles have been airbrushed out.
A year earlier, Lowry was weeping very different tears. He sat alone in his car after the first round of the Open Championship in Carnoustie, an opening-round 74 leaving him looking over his shoulder rather than up the leaderboard.
It would be a fifth missed cut in a year that lacked a single top-10 along with an invite to the Masters.
Lowry split from his caddie Dermot Byrne that same day: if a rupture was inevitable then its timing was indecently hasty. His coach Neil Manchip took the bag for Friday’s round, after which he went home early and put an SOS call into his brother Alan for some temp work.
“Golf wasn’t my friend at the time”, reflected Lowry a year later. “It was something that became very stressful and it was weighing on me and I just didn’t like doing it.”
The awful thing about golf is its volatility but that can be the best thing about it too.
A year later, Lowry stepped off the 17th tee of the third round of the Open Championship and turned to his new caddie, Bo Martin and said, “Bo, whatever happens, we have to enjoy this next 20 minutes or so.”
Lowry was playing like he was blessed with some kind of divine fire. He had birdied seven of his last 14 holes to roar clear of the pack, and bring the crowds at Royal Portrush into a kind of fervour. He would birdie 17 too on his way to a third-round 63 that meant he had effectively won the Open. The complication was that he had to go out on Sunday to not lose it.
He hardly slept, but woke up to hang grimly on through the absurd rain. When his tee shot on 17 found the fairway, he looked to the sky and puffed out his cheeks: he would be the Open champion. The 18th fairway thus became a giddy procession, as Lowry slowed his pace to find familiar faces around him while thousands more charged behind him, waving tricolours and chanting ole, ole.
Advertisement
“What I did was very special”, says Lowry today, “and to walk down the 18th hole with a six-shot lead, I’m probably never going to do that again, so I’m not going to try and replicate that this week.”
So, to this week.
“I feel like I’m a better golfer than I was in 2019", he says. “I am a better golfer than I was in 2019. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and win by seven this year instead of six. It’s just golf, that’s the way it is. As a golfer, you always have to look at it as the glass is always half-full. You can’t look at it any other way.”
Along with becoming one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour, Lowry has breached the top-10 in the world rankings, and these facts, along with the status bestowed by his Claret Jug, have made him a headline name in the US.
But while his glass is half-full, he has a few sideline bristles and frustrations all the same. The more attention Lowry has garnered in America, the more he chafes as that coverage’s more rudimentary aspects; impressions of him that are always at their most Carroll’s Gift Stores whenever he’s playing in Ireland.
The very first question of his press conference at Portrush today, for instance, asked him to reflect on how he celebrated his 2019 triumph. Lowry flicked a look at the row of Irish journalists in front of him and said, “Interesting first question, isn’t it? Here to talk about golf and all anyone wants to talk about is drinking.”
Shortly after, a journalist with whom Lowry has a good relationship asked him if he was fed up of this impression of him as a pint-swilling craic merchant. (Note: not a verbatim edition of the question.)
“Look, I’ll let people believe what they want to believe and I kind of do my own thing”, replied Lowry. “The people close to me know what I’m like.”
Of greater concern is the finishing ability he showcased here six years ago has deserted him. Exclude the team event Zurich Classic and his sole tournament win since the Open came at Wentworth in 2022, while he has recently been stuck in a rut at the majors.
Having seen opportunities to win at last year’s PGA and Open slide by, he turned a promising Masters Saturday position into a miserable Sunday 81, and he then missed the cut at both the PGA and the US Open.
At Quail Hollow he was heard slamming the turf yelling “F**k this place”, while at Oakmont he bogeyed a par-five and walked off the green muttering “F**k this place, f**k this place.” Portrush should at least stall that trend.
“As my own mental game regards that, I’ve had a couple of episodes this year, but golf is hard at this level”, says Lowry, slightly abashed, when asked a general question about his mental game.
“Since 2019, apart from the Covid year, I feel like my golf has been okay”, he continues, “It’s been very consistent. Obviously I’ve not won as much as I would have liked, but it’s hard to win out there. You just need to keep going with day-to-day, week-to-week, and give yourself the best chances.”
There has been another caddie change too, and Lowry is now working with Darren Reynolds, with Bo Martin now carrying Min Woo Lee’s bag. In a recent video with the R&A reliving that glorious walk down 18 in 2019, he revealed he told Martin that he loved him, before adding with a laugh that he’s not so sure he will loves him now.
During the course of his press conference, Lowry revealed the depths of that struggle to his 2019 triumph, while also giving the impression of a golfer learning to embrace that struggle.
“Sometimes when everything is going really well, I get complacent. Then all of a sudden, before I know it, I’m like three-over through five and start to have a panic because I feel like I’m going to do well.
“I feel like when things are not going well I think is when I’m at my best, or when I don’t feel like things are going well, like go back to 2019 here, I had a meltdown on the Wednesday because I thought I wasn’t going to go out and play well, but then that focuses me in a little bit more.
“If I can keep my complacency away and my expectation down, that’s when I’m at my best.”
Rather than play the Scottish Open last week, Lowry has spent the last fortnight touring Ireland, playing all of Portmarnock, The Island, Baltray, Waterville, Hogs Head and Adare Manor beneath the blazing summer sun. This is anyone’s idea of a worthwhile break, though that creates one small problem.
Where’s the struggle?
“I’ve had a great week. I’ve had a great week of practice. I just need to play shit for the next couple of days, and I’ll be all right.”
Gavin Cooney
Viewcomments
Send Tip or Correction
Embed this post
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Email “Shane Lowry learning to embrace the struggle that paved the way to his first Open triumph”.
Recipient's Email
Feedback on “Shane Lowry learning to embrace the struggle that paved the way to his first Open triumph”.
Your Feedback
Your Email (optional)
Report a Comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment.
Please give full details of the problem with the comment...
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
before taking part.
Leave a Comment
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel.
Racism or Hate speech
An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs.
Trolling or Off-topic
An attempt to derail the discussion.
Inappropriate language
Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs.
Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts.
Please provide additional information
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
Leave a commentcancel
Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user
View our policy
⚠️ Duplicate comment
Post Comment
have your say
Or create a free account to join the discussion
lessons of victory
Royal Portrush
Shane Lowry
the open 2025
FreeCycling
Brilliant Ben Healy takes fabled yellow jersey as overall leader at the Tour de France
Former Dundalk defender charged by English FA over alleged betting offences
AnalysisReport Card
How will Tyrone and Meath reflect on their 2025 seasons?
Freefar from the madding crowds
'It's nice to be able to accept adulation, even though I struggle with it at times'
FreePodcastThe Football Family
Can Shels and Pat's defend 1-0 leads? | Ferguson moves closer to Roma move
FreePodcast
Lions XV to face Australia | Ireland beat poor Portugal
Are the Wallabies good enough to take down the Lions?
Murray Kinsella
Reports from Brisbane
back on track
'I was sick for about 12 days. I lost five or six kilos'
extra cover
Lions call up Scotland's Graham, Sutherland, and Ashman
Club World Cup final scuffle 'should have been avoided' says Luis Enrique
Gary Keegan
'He's got a great affinity to these players': Keegan double-jobbing with Lions rugby and Cork hurlers
more from us
Investigates
Daft.ie Property Magazine
Allianz Home Magazine
The 42 Sports Magazine
TG4 Entertainment Magazine
Money Diaries
The Journal TV
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
About FactCheck
Our Network
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
more from us
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
Our Network
The Journal
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
© 2025 Journal Media Ltd
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
Switch to Desktop
Switch to Mobile
The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie
Report an error, omission or problem:
Your Email (optional)
Create Email Alert
Create an email alert based on the current article
Email Address
One email every morning
As soon as new articles come online
Sign in or create
a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Related News
25 May, 2025
Premier League Soccer: Stream Southampto . . .
01 Apr, 2025
Sephora’s Spring Sale Starts Friday—Here . . .
07 May, 2025
BCCI Congratulates Rohit Sharma On Test . . .
06 Jun, 2025
Run It Straight is anarchy in the guise . . .
19 Apr, 2025
Lola Young runs off stage to vomit mid p . . .
12 Apr, 2025
Lucy Markovic, Australia’s Next Top Mode . . .
08 May, 2025
Irish dancer steps confidently into coll . . .
17 Jun, 2025
Real Madrid respond to chance to sign £7 . . .