The gold trophy in Shane Lowry’s hands as he ran down the hill from the first tee to those gathered behind the guardrails – some with Irish flags rested on the steel frames, and with a giddiness hanging in the air – was smaller than the one he grew up dreaming about holding.
In those young days, the Sam Maguire Cup was his dream, to follow in his father Brendan’s footsteps of winning an All-Ireland football final at Croke Park.
This moment in time on Sunday evening at Bethpage Black in Long Island, where many an Irish immigrant went chasing different kinds of dreams through the years, brought us a glimpse into how Lowry has brought that DNA of team sport into his own field of dreams. Despite all that he has achieved in golf on his own – winning the Claret Jug and multiple other big tournaments – this 45th edition of the Ryder Cup fulfilled all that he could ever have envisaged, and more.
Lowry’s Open win at Royal Portrush was magical and wonderful in its own right, but – as the Offaly man held that Ryder Cup trophy and ran to be embraced by the European fans – it was as if he had found his rightful place atop the summit, a hero for the manner in which he chased down that precious half-point in his match with Russell Henley when all seemed lost.
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Just as important as delivering on the scoreboard was the manner in which he had stood shoulder-to-shoulder as a protective force for Rory McIlroy in their two fourballs matches.
The context of Lowry’s finish – five successive 3s, birdieing three of the last four holes, including most critically a teasing putt on the 18th – showed an inner steel that very few possess. He was the dealmaker, a man almost possessed by what the Ryder Cup means to him, as shown by him making the team for Bethpage his season’s priority.
“What is it about the Irish and Ryder Cup?” he wondered afterwards, the Tricolour wrapped around his neck, and the happiest of heads on his shoulders, a broad smile and tears in his eyes. Human, oh so human.
That finishing stretch of holes saw Lowry deliver when many others faltered. “I need to do something,” he’d said to his caddie Darren Reynolds at the time, two down to Henley with four to play.
Henley played great golf, Lowry just played so much better, birdieing the 15th with a fantastic approach to inside four feet and, then, after Henley had played from a fairway bunker to 10 feet on the last, hitting his own approach to seven feet. Henley, one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, missed. Lowry rolled his in.
With his reaction, he was the conductor of the pandemonium which ensued. His leap defied gravity, an iconic snapshot of his joy.
“You think back to the Irish greats in the game, they have all holed putts to win the Ryder Cup and I got my moment,” Lowry would remark, his thoughts going back to Eamonn Darcy in 1987, Philip Walton at Oak Hill in ’95, Paul McGinley at The Belfry in 2002, Darren Clarke at The K Club in 2006 and Graeme McDowell at Celtic Manor in 2010.
Lowry’s fortitude through that closing stretch brought him all the adulation, and deservedly so. As if to underline his love for the Ryder Cup and all that it means to him, his thoughts were already drifting forward to the 2027 match at Adare Manor in Co Limerick.
McIlroy has had a year of years, winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, but he was equally as proud of the achievement of winning an away Ryder Cup.
And yet, much of the Northern Irishman’s joy was also for what Lowry had managed to do when the chips were down and a tipping point beckoned as the USA’s red wave erased Europe’s blue from the scoreboards.
“This is Shane’s third Ryder Cup and it is his best performance, absolutely immense. What Shane did will stand to him for the rest of his career. He could enjoy the last few holes at Portrush but what he had to go through today to get that done will stand to him for the rest of his career,” said McIlroy.
Yet that dramatic finish, Lowry brilliant in shot-execution and staying focused on the tasks at hand time and again, was just one part of his evolution in this Ryder Cup.
For two days, Lowry had partnered McIlroy in the fourballs, and was required to be more than just another player. He became a protector to his friend, as McIlroy was subjected to the sort of verbal abuse that holds no place in any sporting environment.
“He got into big brother mode, put his arm around me, said ‘right, we are in this together’, and I am unbelievably lucky, fortunate, whatever you want to say, to have him beside me in those moments. He was able to back me up and play that protective role. I will be forever indebted to him for that,” said McIlroy.
