Shane Lowry returns to Royal Portrush where a large mural honors his 2019 British Open win
'Everyone that comes up here sends me pictures standing beside it. Some of them I can't say what they were doing in it,' he said on Monday during a press conference. 'But it is very special. I've done something special in my life.'
Lowry didn't know what to make of the mural at first. He doesn't look at himself as someone worthy of being celebrated as a national hero. He's just Shane.
'I'm just myself. I just happen to be OK at golf and lucky enough that I got to achieve some pretty cool things. Honestly, that's how I feel about it,' he said.
Lowry also knows that six years have come and gone ad he hasn't added to his major title. He only has one PGA Tour victory since – a team title with Rory McIlroy at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Having won at Portrush in a rout by six strokes was the culmination of a lifetime dream and he celebrated into the wee hours of the morning. Video of him singing at the Harbour Bar and elsewhere went viral.
'I've always been a firm believer that when you win, you need to try and celebrate those victories. So I did that that night,' he said.
But what he achieved here in 2019 is in the past. He's enjoyed being home in Ireland for the past three weeks for the first time since Christmas and set up shop last week in Waterville to practice. He ticked off rounds he played at Portmarnock, The Island, Baltray, Waterville, Hogs Head and Adare Manor.
'So I've played some of the best courses we have in the country,' he said.
The only problem? He said he's been playing too well. When he won in 2019, he was down in the dumps and feeling rotten about his chances until he went for a drink with his coach, Neil Manchip, who set him straight. So, Lowry has a pretty good idea what he needs to do to prepare properly. ' I just need to play shit for the next couple of days, and I'll be all right,' he cracked.
'No matter what I done then, it doesn't give me any God-given right to do anything special this week. I just need to get my head down on Thursday morning and get after it and see what happens.'
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