There is an old adage not only in golf but in sport in general, and that’s you may first have to lose a Major before you first win one.
Ask new U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson who ‘lost’ the 2010 U.S. Open and then was dealt a cruel blow in ‘losing’ later that year the PGA Championship while the U.S. Open was firmly within reach a year ago at Chambers Bay.
Despite a super-brave showing Shane Lowry now knows the hurt of losing a Major despite a thoroughly gallant display last Sunday at Oakmont.
Good friend and colleague, Liam Kelly from the Irish Independent takes up the story.
‘Oh!’ Slow close for Shane Lowry in capturing a first Major. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
Liam points out: Lowry had to wait until Friday to play his first round because thunderstorms caused delays. A 68 was a great start; 70 on Saturday morning’s second round very acceptable; but Lowry entered a new realm of ease with his game on Saturday evening in the 14 holes he played before darkness descended.
He was at five-under par for the tournament, and had a 4.45am wake-up call for Sunday morning ahead of a 7.0am starting time to complete the final four holes of round three.
Two birdies meant he had recorded a round of 68 (69 after his controversial penalty), the best 54-hole score in the nine US Opens played at Oakmont since the first one in 1927.
At -7, he had a four-shot lead over joint second-placed Andrew Landry and Dustin Johnson.
He was back at base by around 8.45am, and between then and 1.30 when Lowry and his team, including dad Brendan, left their rented house to go to Oakmont, the tension inevitably began to rise.
He had breakfast, watched Tyrone v Cavan and Tipperary v Limerick on the GAA Go app, listened to some of the Offaly v Galway hurling match, and tried to rest.
“Those few hours were tough. I was quite restless, I tried to go for a kip and couldn’t sleep,” he said. “It wasn’t ideal but that was the way it is.
Shane Lowry is taking a week off before the defence of his WGC – Bridgestone Invitational (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
“You’re out at half-three on a Sunday in a Major, that’s what it’s going to be like, I remember it being the same in Chambers Bay last year.”
The leader was paired with Landry, whose bid to win the first Major he had played in collapsed.
Temperatures soared, the greens ran fast, the dramas kept coming.
Johnson, playing in the group ahead of Lowry, had his now infamous Rules incident where the ball moved as he set himself to make a putt on the fifth green.
The official accepted Johnson’s word that he had not caused the ball to move, but on the 12th the player was told it would be reviewed when he finished. Lowry and other contenders also heard the news.
Honest
“We were told about Dustin on 12. To be honest, I was just trying to make pars,” he said.
“It was such a slog out there for me. I felt like I was hitting good shots and getting nothing out of them.”
The shots slipped away. Seven bogeys, just one birdie, a 76 finish, and defeat by just three shots when Johnson’s penalty was imposed left Lowry with conflicting emotions.
“It’s not easy to get yourself in a position I was in this morning. When I got myself there, I didn’t finish the job off, which is really disappointing,” he said.
The positives were: “Tied second place at the US Open, my best ever finish in a Major. Good world ranking points this week, a good few Ryder Cup points.”
