Lowry hangs tough to break major duck

Shane Lowry made light of the field and conditions to cruise to emphatic six-shot victory at the Open Championship.

Shane Lowry produced a gritty performance in tough conditions at Royal Portrush to claim his maiden Major with a six-shot victory at the 2019 Open Championship on Sunday.

Holding a four-shot lead over Englishman Tommy Fleetwood heading into the final round, the Irishman made a nervous start with a bogey at the opening hole, reducing his advantage to three strokes.

However, the 32-year-old managed to make birdies at the fourth, fifth and seventh holes to steady the ship but just when things seemed rosy, wet weather and increasing winds made scoring extremely difficult for the players on the course.

Lowry (100/1 – 2020 Masters Outright) bogeyed four of the next seven holes but with the likes of Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau also faltering, the lead was never in danger.

The Mullingar-born star birdied the 15th hole before parring his way in for a one-over-par round of 72 to finish on -15, recording a six-shot victory to land the famous Claret Jug in front of a raucous home crowd at Portrush.

Fleetwood’s three-over-par 74 was enough to see him clinch the silver medal, with American Finau a further two strokes back in third after a level-par 71.

Englishman Westwood and world number one Brooks Koepka shared fourth position on -6, while Fowler, Tyrrell Hatton, Danny Willett and Robert MacIntyre all finished on -5.

It was a day to forget for Justin Rose (18/1 – 2020 Masters Outright) as he ended up signing for an eight-over-par 79, which saw him slip down into a share of 20th alongside the likes of Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and Louis Oosthuizen.

American JB Holmes also capitulated on the final day after a disastrous 16-over-par 87 saw him drop from third place into a tie for 67th.

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