Shane Lowry’s 2019 Open win in entrance of ecstatic Irish followers at Royal Portrush stays one of many event’s nice fairytale tales.
The Open was being performed at Portrush for the primary time because it debuted in 1951 and the person born over the border in County Offaly proved unstoppable.
Lowry lifted the Claret Jug with a profitable rating of 15-under, 12 pictures decrease than the 72-hole whole of England’s Max Faulkner in 1951.
A number of low scores had been recorded on the 148th Open that week however who went lowest on the par 71?
65 – Rory McIlroy (spherical two)
Portrush was McIlroy’s residence course and he was the large crowd favorite to provide the memorable scenes that had been finally sparked by Lowry.
Rory’s event acquired off to a nightmare begin when he took a quadruple-bogey 8 on the opening gap earlier than slumping to an 8-over 79.
It left him an absolute mountain to climb however he very practically scaled it, firing a superb 6-under 65 in spherical two. Sadly, it was one shot too many to make the reduce, leaving McIlroy questioning what might need been.
65 – Xander Schauffele (spherical two)
Everyone knows Schauffele is an outstanding performer on the hyperlinks after he claimed victory within the 2024 Open at Royal Troon.
The American had additionally completed runner-up at Carnoustie in 2018 and he gave one other instance of his linked prowess with a 65 on day two.
That Friday rating lifted him to 18th on the midway mark and he remained in that place with a third-round 69 earlier than sliding to forty first after a disappointing closing 78.
65 – Justin Harding (spherical two)
The South African had missed the reduce in his solely Open look at Muirfield in 2013.
Six years on, he made a modest return with an even-par however then roared onto web page one of many leaderboard with a 65 on Friday.
It put him fifth at midway and in place to problem however laps of 74 and 76 on the weekend dropped Harding to forty first.
65 – Kevin Streelman (spherical two)
Like McIlroy, Streelman had endured a tricky opening spherical, his 6-over 77 suggesting a missed reduce was absolutely on the playing cards.
However on Friday he rallied. The American, who had damaged 70 simply as soon as in 4 earlier Open appearances, handed in a 65 to keep away from an early flight residence.
It proved somewhat a flash within the pan as a gradual weekend meant he didn’t make the highest 50 for his fifth Open operating.
65 – Danny Willett (spherical three)
Whereas the 65s of McIlroy, Schauffele, Harding and Streelman proved only a second within the solar, Willett’s 6-under rating paved the way in which for his joint-best Open end.
A 74 on day one had left him down the sector however he climbed from 94th to thirty second on the midpoint on account of a 4-under 67.
On Saturday, he actually put his foot down and the person who had gained The Masters simply two years earlier, roared as much as eighth with a 65. He held agency on Sunday to nudge into the highest six.
63 – Shane Lowry (spherical three)
A pair of 67s had given Lowry a share of the midway lead however simply two pictures separated the highest seven on the leaderboard. It seemed broad open.
However on Saturday, the Irishman left the sector trailing in his wake, firing a sensational 8-under 63 to roar 4 clear.
Lowry made birdies at 3 and 5 earlier than making a transfer with three extra features at 9, 10 and 12. Driving a wave, he then carded a hat-trick of birdies at 15, 16 and 17, holing the whole lot he checked out.
On Sunday, no-one may get in a blow and Lowry pulled additional clear to win by six.
61 – Rory McIlroy – 2005
Lowry’s 63 is the present official course file at Royal Portrush as a result of modifications it underwent previous to 2019.
However ask many an area and their first intuition is to cite the magical 61 shot by a then 16-year-old Rory McIlroy in stroke-play qualifying for the North of Eire Championship.
The spherical, carded in July 2005, went down in folklore and earmarked McIlroy as a future celebrity.
Michael Bannon, McIlroy’s longtime coach, informed TheOpen.com in 2019 about his recollections from that day: “A member of the golf membership phoned me and informed me, and I believed it was a joke. Nobody can shoot 61 round Royal Portrush.”
However McIlroy did, making birdies on the remaining 5 holes to beat the then earlier file by three.
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