Shane Lowry interview: Going from Oakmont to Portrush is taking the p---

Telegraph

a day ago

The muddling buffoonery of the US Golf Association certainly did not assist in this mood of weirdness. In fact, the hapless organisers of America's national championship actually managed to make the scenario yet more surreal.
On the 12th, Lowry was informed by referees they were unsure if Johnson had sustained a penalty shot for inadvertently making his ball move as he addressed it on the fifth green. Initially, he was absolved of blame but now they were having a rethink and would reach the decision at the end.
So Lowry did not know at that stage if he was one behind Johnson or level with the burly South Carolinian. 'Yeah people have said that was a distraction, but I've never used that as an excuse. It would have definitely been more distracting for Dustin but he coped with the situation and ensured it didn't matter [a shot was eventually added to his scorecard, but he still prevailed by three].
'He handled his emotions and I didn't, especially down those last few holes [he dropped three shots in the last five holes to post a 76]. And that's what I took away from that. I go back a much different golfer and person.'
'I wound myself up after third round at Augusta'
That is undoubtedly the case, but with a character who wears his green heart on his sleeve there remain flashpoints. He has played admirably this season and achieved a long-time aim by cracking the world top 10 – albeit briefly – last month. But at the Masters he hit the headlines for berating the press for asking him about Rory McIlroy when he himself, was in contention for the Green Jacket and then at the next major, the US PGA, for shouting 'f--- this place' – though in mitigation, he has never been a fan of Quail Hollow. In between, he refused to talk to the media after finishing runner-up in Philadelphia, a $20 million event he really should have won.
'I don't know, I wound myself up after the third round there at Augusta,' he says. 'I was right in the hunt but bogeyed the last two. And when I was walking to the clubhouse I could see the guys waiting to speak to me and I thought 'ah s---, they just want to quiz me about Rory'. It's difficult.
'I chatted to one of the media people on Tour who has worked at the tennis and they said, 'win or lose, they have to do media duties, but get time to cool down'. I think that should be the case with us, but I don't want to make a big thing of it as that type of thing only happens once or twice a year.
'Look, after the Masters and that final round [in which he fired an 82] it was a strange feeling. I was so happy for my mate in completing the career grand slam, but I felt terrible about my game. I went to Hilton Head to play the next week, yet just didn't want to be there. But I've bounced back and am determined not to let that define my season. There's too much to play for.'
Naturally, the return to Portrush has long been circled on the calendar and the recollections will flood back, especially of his grandmother, Emily, who revealed on the Irish news that she got stuck into the brandy to calm her nerves.
'She was 88 the other week, still going strong and I hope she has cause to crack open the brandy again,' Lowry says. 'It's funny, because there is some apprehension as I know I'll go there with the spotlight on me, although as Rory has the Green Jacket maybe he'll lift some of the pressure off me.
'I'm often asked how I can top 2019 and I have no idea. I won by six, so maybe win by seven? But that can wait. I have Oakmont before that.'