Joyous scenes as Offaly welcomes the Irish Open champion

A county whose ratio of sporting greats for its size must outrank any other county in this sports-mad country can now add another name to the likes of Nicholas Clavin, Willie Bryan, Paddy McCormack, Brian Whelahan, the Dooleys, Seamus Darby and Matt Connor. Step forward Shane Lowry, the young Esker Hills golfer, who captured the imagination of the sporting nation with his stunning victory in the 3 Irish Open in Baltray last weekend. Lowry"s victory, after a three-hole play-off with England"s Robert Rock, catapulted him into the national sporting limelight - but those avid Offaly sports fans were well aware of his simmering talent long before the remarkable triumph. There were scenes reminiscent of the homecoming of Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Clara on Sunday night, as hundreds gathered to welcome another Clara hero. Now, Shane has opted to turn professional - leaving aside his dreams of Walker Cup participation - in favour of challenging himself week-in, week-out against the very best in the world. The mark of a real sporting giant is that quest for ever greater challenges, that restlessness, that inability to be satisfied by success. Having tasted success on the European Tour, it would always have been difficult for Shane to return to the relative tranquillity of the amateur scene. His victory in Louth was historic in so many senses; this was his debut in a professional field; he became only the third amateur to win a professional tour event; he did it having endured the pressure of leading from the halfway point and in front of a legion of enthusiastic home fans; he regained his composure after missing a putt on the 72th hole for the championship ... Having shot an impressive opening 67, Lowry scorched through the links venue on Friday, shooting a sensational 62 to rocket to the top of the leaderboard. Speaking after Friday"s birdie-feast, he said: 'It"s like a dream, really, the way I putted. It"s an unbelievable feeling to be leading by two shots over a field like this. I didn"t expect it coming into the tournament, but I expected to do well. 'I"ll never forget this day as long as I live,' he said, not realising the even more memorable moments that lay ahead. By the end of the third round, he shared the lead with Rock, but when he fell two behind on the 11th in the final round, it looked as if he might slip quietly away. Not so. Rock bogeyed the next and then Lowry, with fist-pumps each time, birdied the 14th and 16th to go ahead. However, the dramatic finale was set up when Rock, seeking his first win after two runners-up finishes this season, rolled in a 20-footer for birdie at the short 17th to draw level. With Lowry"s horror miss on the last they tied on the 17 under par total of 271, but it was to prove his day after all. 'I didn"t think I would have a better chance than that,' he said afterwards. But he did - and in pouring rain he took it to change his life forever. Rock missed a nine footer at the first play-off hole and after the next was shared in birdies Lowry"s tap-in putt for a par five next time round - their fourth playing of the long 18th in the day - gave him the trophy as Rock had pitched over the green and by failing to get up and down ran up a six. 'I know my life is about to change forever,' he said, in the immediate aftermath of his victory.