Offaly Amateur Lowry Makes History

Playoff Drenched In Drama

By Denis O'Brien

Amateur golfer 22-year-old, Shane Lowry was the toast of the country and his home county of Offaly this weekend when he became the first amateur to win the 3 Irish Open golf championship at Baltray in Louth on Sunday evening.

In one of the most dramatic finishes ever seen in the 82-year history of Ireland's premier golf tournament, this year's Irish Open Golf Championship witnessed the young man from Clara miss a three-foot putt on the 18th green to win and overcome England's Robert Rock.

However, Lowry made good through driving rain on this links course when shooting par on the third extra playoff hole with Rock to take the title.

At the third time of asking again on the 18th, the burly young man sank his one-and-a-half foot putt for a Par 5 and the Irish Open title and become only the third amateur ever to win a European PGA event.

When the ball finally disappeared, he threw his putter to the ground and jumped up and down pumping the air with both fists, something his father Brendan and uncles might have done when celebrating Offaly beating Kerry in the All Ireland Football final of 1982.

As the rain poured down, the holy water and rosary beads were out in full force around Clara in Offaly on Sunday as Shane the young hopeful, who in 2007 had won the Irish Open Amateur Close Championships, was seeking to win on this his first professional tournament, the Irish Open.

Prior to the tournament, all the talk, and justifiably so, was on three-time major winner and the 2007 champion, Padraig Harrington, while young Rory McElroy and Graeme McDowell were also seen as carrying the nation hopes.

McElroy was the best of this bunch but was well off the pace when finishing well down the field on level par 288.

McDowell never made it to the weekend as he narrowly failed to make the cut at 6 under.

Harrington also met this fate, and though he shot an improving 3 under 68 in the second round on the Friday, his first day's 73 was disappointing and his title bid essentially ended there.

But it was the little known Lowry who was left to carry the torch.

Lowry played some brilliant golf in the opening two days shooting three under in the first round, and a marvelous 62 on Friday, a brief course record, (McDowell scored 61 to beat it) saw the young man become only the second amateur to lead a European Tour event at the halfway stage.

Lowry said at the time, "It's like a dream really - when do I wake up?"

He started Saturday with a two shot lead over Robert Rock and Welshman, Jamie Donaldson and after a five hour delay due to heavy winds he finished the day on -16 along with Rock while Sweden's Johan Edfors was three further back.

Wind and cool sunshine opened the final round. After a great second shot to the par 5 third hole Lowry had an eagle chance but narrowly missed his put but a birdie put him one ahead of Rock on 17 under.

The Englishman tied the lead with a birdie of his own on the 6th with Edfors struggling to keep up and fell two behind by the 8th hole. Lowry dropped a shot on the following hole after failing to make a parable put and you wondered, though he had looked composed throughout the tournament, was he getting a little nervous as the championship was entering its final stages.

Meanwhile, nobody was making a run up the leader board so it looked likely that the winner would come from the top three players who were all playing together.

But Rock, who has never won a tournament but has come close when finishing runner-up in several recent outings, was noticeably slowing his game and starting to think a little too much about each shot.

By the 16th it was all square after Lowry sank a great six-foot birdie to go 17 under while Rock missed his chance and fell one behind with Edfors off the pace in third.

The 17th par 3 saw Lowry attempt a 15-foot birdie. It had good pace but narrowly missed, however, much to the astonishment of the home crowd, Rock sank his 18-foot effort to tie it again at 17 and under heading into the last hole.

The arrival of heavy rain added to the tension on the 18th par 5 tee box.

Lowry's fellow Offaly man, Taoiseach Brian Cowen was among the huge gallery around the 18th green.

Rock hit his third shot to 18 feet of the hole but the crowd erupted with a fierce roar when Lowry hit his ball to within four feet of the pin. Rock sent his birdie effort right of the whole which meant that Lowry had the three footer for the title.

His mother, Bridget nervously looked down and was unable to look as her son addressed the ball. Never one to take much time over the ball, he putted quickly.

Disaster. The ball went left and Shane bent over dropped his putter and sank his face in his hands.

The silence from the gallery said it all.

As both players headed back to the 18th for a sudden death playoff, you wondered had the amateur blown his chance to win.

Then Rock had a chance for glory with a 10 foot putt but missed and they both shot par.

In the pouring rain they made another trip back to the same tee box. They both found the fairway. Lowry hit a great second to within 18 feet of the pin while Rock ended up in the bunker. The Clara man left his eagle putt on the lip of the hole and while he tapped in for a birdie, Rock managed to get up and down to once more rob the young man of glory.

Both left their tee shots this time on the far left by a cart path and within a few feet of each other with trees between them and the green. They then both hit safely onto the fairway before Lowry hit an excellent 121-yard wedge, pin high and 20 feet from the hole. Rock put his ball just over the green with a tricky lip to contend with. Advantage, Lowry.

Rock unwisely elected to chip when he could have putted, and sent his birdie effort eight feet past the hole while Lowry left his just short of two feet from the pin. Rock missed and Lowry this time made no mistake and the title was finally his.

The crowd erupted with a huge roar and then flocked onto the green to pat the youngster on the back for his historic win.

Darren Clarke was the best of the home crew when he finished on 5 under par.

There have been but a handful of Irish winners over the years. Fred Daly won in 1946, Christy O'Connor Junior in 1975 before John O'Leary's win seven years later, and Harrington's win two years ago.

Shane was thunderstruck afterwards.

"I'm speechless to be honest. I missed a short putt in normal play and I could not believe it happened. I knew that I was still in it and had to keep plugging away," he told reporters with a big smile on his young face.

"The crowd were like a 15th club in my bag today. It's unbelievable and no words can describe it."

He added he didn't know if he had any plans to turn professional.