Shane Lowry cruised to his second Irish Open title after making history with a record 11-shot victory at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg.
The 39-year-old held a four-shot advantage heading into the final round and posted a seven under par 63 to finish on 23 under and add more home soil success following his memorable win as an amateur in 2009 at County Louth.
The 2019 Open Champion finished 11 clear of Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann as he eclipsed the largest margin of victory at the event set by Bernhard Langer at Portmarnock in 1987 with a 29-foot birdie at the last.
Wide margin winner
He becomes the fifth player from the Republic of Ireland to win the Irish Open and first since his victory in 2009. It is also his seventh DP World Tour title in his 304th start, four years and two days since his last at the 2022 BMW PGA Championship.
The trophy was presented to him by US President Donald Trump, the owner of the Doonbeg Estate, the first US President in history to attend a DP World Tour event.
Lowry said: “This year has been quite difficult on the course for me. I had a few chances to win. So, to come here this week and do this, I don’t know, I just don’t do things by half-measures!”
He added: “I wasn’t sure how things stood with the leaderboard, so on the 15th hole I asked my caddie how we were was doing. Or how far ahead are we? He said ‘far enough’. So, I was happy with that. My daughter is always asking me, ‘When are you going to bring a trophy home?’ So, I’m going to bring a trophy home.”
Red hot putter
Lowry sent a statement at the first with a 16-foot birdie – his tenth one-putt in a row – and when his closest pursuer, Jacob Skov Olesen, bogeyed the next, the Irishman led by six. The final group parred the next two holes, but Lowry’s advantage continued to grow when he rolled in another birdie at the fifth to reach 18 under.
Momentum was clearly with the home favourite and although he was on the fringe at the par-three seventh, Lowry drained the 43-foot putt for only the third birdie on the hole on Sunday. Olesen could only par the next six holes after an opening bogey, and he was soon replaced as the leader’s nearest rival thanks to Reed’s birdie blitz.
The American, who leads the Race to Dubai rankings, birdied the third, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth and 10th to climb up to 12 under. He still remained seven shots back, but only for a matter of minutes as Lowry added another gain at the eighth to become the first player at 20 under.
Lowry finished his front nine with only his sixth dropped shot of the week, however, he bounced back with a tap-in birdie at the tenth to regain his eight-shot lead. It soon became ten in front thanks to a brilliant tee-shot into the par-three 14th for another birdie before adding a 44-foot effort from the fringe at the next. He lipped out his second at the par-three 16th and finished with a magical putt at the last to complete a brilliant triumph on home soil.
To check out the final leaderboard at the Amgen Irish Open, click here.