'The Ryder Cup means everything to me'

Walking up the 18th fairway at Bethpage Black in New York on Sunday with the growing US tide threatening to engulf Europe’s Ryder Cup hopes, Shane Lowry realised history was calling him.

“I’ve a chance to do the coolest thing in my life here,” he told caddie Darren Reynolds, as the destination of the Ryder Cup came down to a matter of seconds.

Lowry had already shown his mettle. Two down after 14 holes to World No 3 Russell Henley, with the scoreboard showing a US resurgence across the singles contests, Lowry could easily have succumbed to the pressure.

Instead, he birdied 15 for a win, and 16 for a half, bringing him to one down with one to play. Henley, showing signs of strain, drove into the fairway bunker on the last, giving Lowry an edge.

But when the American nailed a remarkable bunker shot to ten feet, it seemed like a dagger to the heart of Europe’s hopes.

Despite his window of opportunity having suddenly and dramatically narrowed, Lowry responded with a superlative iron to seven feet. When Henley left his birdie effort short of the hole, the stage was left for Shane to sink a nerve-jangling putt to win the hole, secure a draw in his game, and the precious half point that retained the Ryder Cup for Europe. In a display of scintillating golf under the white heat of the Ryder Cup spotlight, his six-under par final round of 64 was equalled on the final day only by his rival Henley.

In an outburst of emotion, Lowry danced in delight on the green – in a manner than reminded many of Seamus Darby’s reaction to his last-gasp goal in the 1982 All-Ireland football final.

Soon he was thrust before the Sky Sports cameras, with emotion visibly coursing through his body.

“That was the hardest couple of hours of my whole life, honestly. I just can’t believe that putt went in,” he said. “I stood over it saying ‘This is it’”

His father, Brendan, who embraced his son greenside soon after the winning putt, said, in an interview with Ray Darcy on RTÉ Radio, that Shane had told him when he struck the putt, he thought he had missed it.

The unbearable tension of the moment, the relief, and his almost-fanatical commitment to the Ryder Cup, all erupted in an outpouring of emotion.

“The Ryder Cup means everything to me. Honestly, I’ve won the Open in Ireland; it’s amazing, it’s a dream come true but The Ryder Cup for me is everything.

“I’ve been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game. That was the hardest couple of hours in my life.

He later posted on social media: “As I was walking up 18 on Sunday I couldn’t but think of all the European and Irish legends that have gone before me in this great tournament.

"From Eamonn Darcy back in 1987, Christy (O'Connor) Jnr in 89, Philip Walton at Oak Hill in 95 to Paul (McGinley) in 2002 and Gmac (Graeme McDowell) at Celtic Manor in 2010. There is just something with the Irish and the Ryder Cup.

“I’ve been lucky enough to achieve some amazing things in this game but last week tops them all. The Ryder Cup means a lot to me and to have to opportunity to hole that putt to retain the cup on Sunday was a privilege.”

“I love the lads on this team and love being a part of it. Luke Donald is the best captain and guy there is. I’m so happy for him and thankful he trusted me again to help this team to victory.”

As if the day couldn't get any better, there was more jubilation in the Lowry household, as Shane's brother, Alan, welcomed the birth of his first baby boy on Sunday morning.

His father told RT Radio: “My son Alan and Amy, his wife, they had a baby, their first baby yesterday morning in Holles Street.”

He added: “Amy, she is mad into golf. She loves the golf.

“They called him Sam Lowry. Sam after Sam Ryder. Imagine that! That was yesterday morning before Shane done what he done which is crazy.”

Lowry finished the Ryder Cup, along with Tyrell Hatton, as the only players not to taste defeat, the Clara man having halved his singles game, and a fourball on Friday with Rory McIlroy, along with a victory alongside McIlroy in Saturday's fourball.

Speaking at a press conference later, Lowry revisited that conversation with his caddie on that fateful final hole.

“I said to my caddie walking down 18, I’ve got an opportunity to do the greatest thing I’ve ever done today, and I did it, and I’m very proud of myself.”

It’s a pride shared by his fellow townspeople in Clara, across Offaly and Ireland, and indeed, among sports fans throughout the continent.