Shane Lowry, Champion Golfer of the Year. Has a nice ring to it, that.
Sunday, July 21 at Royal Portrush in County Antrim saw Shane Lowry produce a gutsy closing round to win his first ever Major championship.
The 32-year-old finished on -15, six clear of nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood to claim the Claret Jug amid a joyous din at the famous links course.
Credit: NBC Sport“To my mum and dad,” an emotional Lowry said, “they sacrificed so much for me when I was younger and I’m so happy I can hand them this trophy tonight.”
Lowry recorded a final round of 72 but it was more than enough to ensure he knew he would be lifting the 148th Open Championship trophy by the time he sank a birdie on the 15th. That put him six clear with three to go and he closed out with three pars as the Irish party started early in the stands and packed galleries.
The Open triumph was Lowry’s sixth professional tournament win and his second of a 2019 that was already shaping up to be his best before he teed off at the Portrush course.
The prize-money for winning the Major title is a staggering €1.7m ($1.93m) and he will shoot up the Fed Ex Cup and Official World Golf Rankings as a result. Going into The Open, Lowry was 67th in the Fed Ex standings and No.33 in the world.
On Monday, he will vault up some 30 places in the Fed Ex race while he is set for his highest ever world ranking placement. His previous high was 19th, back in 2015 after he won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Francesco Molinari climbed 14 places [from 20th to 6th] after he won The Open last year. Lowry should end up between 15th and 17th in the world.
That is not all. Lowry is also set for the following bonuses:
- Playing exemption at The Open until he turns 60 (27 more years, if he feels up for it!)
- PGA Tour exemption for the next five years
- European Tour exemption for the next 10 years
- Invitation to the next five Masters, US PGA, US Open and Players’ Championship tournaments
Simply put, the Clara native is in clover for the next while.
The Major victory will also get Lowry a rake of points to go towards the 2020 Ryder Cup, something he is hell-bent on securing.
More importantly, he is now and forever a Major winner and he did it in steely style.
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