Portrush & Patriotism

The Open Championship at Royal Portrush was poignant, and Sunday was a celebration. The swarm of fans around the 18^th as Shane Lowry capped his victory has drawn comparisons to Tiger at East Lake, but this moment stands alone. Given that The Troubles are often cited as the main reason The Open didn’t return for 68 years, we witnessed a moment of history as the Northern Irish crowds loudly cheered a Leinsterman to the Claret Jug in united patriotism.

Darren Clarke opened the tournament on the course his house overlooks, followed by Graeme McDowell in his boyhood town. But before the golf had even begun, fans, players and reporters were scrambling for superlatives to heap praise on the venue making its long-overdue return to the Open rota.

Rory McIlroy’s quadruple bogey on the first and eventual Thursday 79 threatened to sour the show. Having entered the tournament as the favourite, McIlroy’s valiant Friday comeback fell a single stroke short of making the cut after 7 birdies to a costly lone bogey. However, the crowd responded to Irishman Lowry’s low-round of the tournament; a blitzing 63 on Saturday to give himself a four-stroke lead for the final day, and suddenly the crowds were singing his name.

Proper Links Golf

The heavens opened along the coastline over the four days, but whilst there was no avoiding getting wet in the rain, spirits could not be dampened. This was what the Europeans would call “proper links golf”. Sunday afternoon saw Portrush turn from tough to outright brutal. In fact, the champion’s closing 1-over 72 was arguably as impressive as his bogey-free 8-under 63. Americans like World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler & Open Champ Jodan Spieth all hoped to mount late charges but fell to +3, +3 and +6 respectively at the mercy of the elements.

Runner-up Tommy Fleetwood was raised on links golf in Sunny Southport, whilst the likes of Lee Westwood (T4), Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton & Danny Willett (T6) cemented a resounding result for British golf.

I find one definitive sign of an entertaining golf tournament is colourful scorecards, and we had that in abundance with everything from Emiliano Grillo’s hole-in-one to David Duval’s 14.

Shane Lowry - What’s in the Bag?

Driver: Srixon Z 585

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M4

Irons: Srixon Z U85 (driving iron), Srixon Z 785

Wedges: Cleveland RTX 4

Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab Exo 2-Ball

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Glove: Srixon

Shane Lowry is officially the Champion Golfer of the Year, and deservedly so. Congratulations, Shane!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com