The Open 2019: Shane Lowry wins by six shots – as it happened

And so the 148th Open Championship comes to a close. Golf’s oldest and grandest tournament came back to Northern Ireland after a 68-year hiatus, and the Claret Jug will be staying on the island. All that’s left to do is congratulate the magnificent Shane Lowry, offer commiserations to runner-up Tommy Fleetwood, point you in the direction of Ewan Murray’s verdict, and post, for one last time, the leaderboard. Thanks so much for reading.

-15: Lowry
-9: Fleetwood
-7: Finau
-6: Westwood, Koepka
-5: MacIntyre, Hatton, Willett, Fowler
-4: Reed
-3: Molinari, Lewis, Thomas, Noren, Rahm
-2: Fox, Bjerregaard, Sabbatini, Park
-1: Oosthuizen, Cink, Redman, Glover, Van Rooyen, Fitzpatrick, Smith, Stenson, Spieth, Rose
E: Kisner, Simpson

“I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow morning, and find out what it’s going to feel like then. It’s just going to be incredible!” What a lovely quote that is. All the innocent, childlike joy of winning one of sport’s most famous prizes, laid out bare. Lowry becomes the sixth Irish major champion, after Fred Daly (1947 Open), Padraig Harrington (2007 and 2008 Open, 2008 PGA), Graeme McDowell (2010 US Open), Rory McIlroy (2011 US Open, 2012 and 2014 PGA, 2014 Open) and Darren Clarke (2011 Open). Golf’s an all-Ireland sport, so play nicely.

And now Lowry, cradling the jug in his arms, talks to Sky. “This feels like an out-of-body experience. I was so calm coming down the last! I couldn’t believe it. What a day. It was difficult out there, the weather was so hard. I wasn’t going great during the middle of the round, but then I took a look at the leaderboard and saw everyone else was struggling, and then it became a two-horse race between me and Tommy. And that was good for me, I think, because I could focus on Tommy as far as I could. I told my caddie that I couldn’t stop thinking about winning, but he said: stay with me, stay with me. And kept on my back. What a job he did. I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow morning, and find out what it’s going to feel like then. It’s just going to be incredible!”

“With a score of 269, the winner of the gold medal, and the Champion Golfer of the Year, is Shane Lowry!” The big man is introduced to the crowd, and he waves to the stands before taking receipt of the Claret Jug and hoisting it into the air. Then his speech. “I love this place. It’s one of my favourite places in Ireland. To be able to come up here and play in an Open Championship is great!” Then he pauses and takes a breath before he thanks his mum and dad. “They sacrificed so much for me when I was younger, and I’m so happy I can hand them this trophy tonight!” His voice cracks, he wipes away a tear. He thanks his wife and daughter, it’s so special that they’re there. And lastly the fans. “Thank you so much! This one’s for you!” Not a dry eye in the house!

Lowry’s in the scorer’s hut right now, bouncing off the walls. He doesn’t know what to do with himself right now. “That was so stressful!” he laughs. Not sure whether he was talking about that final round, checking his scorecard, or making his way through the crowds, because everyone wanted a piece of their hero. Anyway, everything’s been checked and double-checked, and the presentation ceremony will take place in short order!

There had been plenty of talk about an Irish champion being crowned here at Portrush this week. Most of it about Rory McIlroy. That wasn’t to be. But few thought Shane Lowry – who missed the cut at the last four Opens – would take the prize here. Try to tell that story on Thursday morning, and most folk would have filed it alongside the tale of Finn MacCool building the Giant’s Causeway with his bare hands. Here we are, though! And good lord, but it’s been thoroughly deserved. That blistering outward run of 31 on Friday. Yesterday’s course-record 63. And all the big shots, careful chips and ice-cool putts today, whenever they were required to steady the ship as he battled to land his maiden major. An Irish winner in Ireland is one of the great Open stories … but let the record also state that this was one of the great Open performances as well. Sensational Shane!

He very nearly drains a fairytale birdie putt. Not quite, but who cares?! He taps in for par. A final round of 72, and he’s won the Open by six shots! The biggest margin of victory at the Open since Louis Oosthuizen triumphed by seven at St Andrews in 2010. He throws his arms into the air, embraces his caddie, then his wife Wendy, then his daughter Iris, then Tommy Fleetwood. An Irish champion in Ireland! The fairytale is written!

Tommy Fleetwood lags his long birdie putt to a couple of feet. He cleans up for par, and a 74. He ends the week in second place … his second runner-up finish in the majors … and is rewarded with a lovely ovation. Next time, Tommy. But now he gives the stage over to Lowry.

Fleetwood sends his second just off the back of the green. It should ensure he finishes second, a result he thoroughly deserves. But this is all about Lowry, who finds the green with his second, at which point Portrush erupts! He opens his arms out as wide as they can go, a celebration of triumph perhaps, though you can imagine he’s trying to hug the atmosphere, throwing his arms around the world. This is one hell of a party already! The ole-ole-oles ring around the 18th, as he grins the widest grin. His partner flashes him a similarly sparkling smile, their daughter in her arms. Their eyes meet. The sweetest moment. He punches the air. He’s about to win the Open!

Lowry clips an iron down the fairway at 18. That’s the last big job completed. He looks to the heavens and blows hard. Fleetwood follows him down. Up on the green, it’s par for Koepka, who ends with a 74. He’s tied for fourth, at-6, his worst showing at a major this year.

!

But it’s an embarrassing 16-over-par 87 for JB Holmes. A couple of sevens and a couple of sixes on the way back, having gone out in 41. Back in 46! He’s +6, after starting the day just six off Lowry’s lead. My, my, dear me.

Two-putt pars again for Lowry and Fleetwood. As Ireland’s hero makes his way to the 18th tee, through a tunnel of ecstatic supporters, he steadfastly refuses to take up any of the many high-five offers. He’s taking nothing for granted. Unlike the R&A engraver, who has already etched his name onto the Claret Jug! But fair’s fair, Lowry has a six-shot lead. Jean van de Velde would have closed it out at Carnoustie in 1999 with a six-shot lead.

-15: Lowry (17)
-9: Fleetwood (17)

Up on 18, Justin Rose signs for a thoroughly awful final round of 79. One of the pre-tournament favourites just never got going today. It’s a 74 for Rickie Fowler, meanwhile, who did well to keep it together after spraying that opening drive out of bounds. He’s -5, and it’s another high finish at the Open without reward. One day, Rickie, one day.

Lowry knows this is done. His face has betrayed his nerves a couple of times today: at the 1st and 2nd, then again during that mid-round run of bogeys. But he’s found his neutral space again. An easy tee shot down 17, then a glorious swish into the heart of the green. Fleetwood’s on in two as well, fine work after a wild drive, but this is all over now. An eerie silence descends on the 17th, almost as though the crowd are saving themselves for the big party at the 18th green. Mind you, it’s all Lowry can do to stop himself from breaking into a premature grin! He’s fighting it. He may as well not bother, though, because it won’t be too long before he’s crowned Champion Golfer!

Two-putt pars for Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood on 16. It’s close now. So close. The crowds close in on Lowry as he makes his way to the 17th tee. It’s a struggle for him to make his way through. The celebrations haven’t quite started already, but folk are gearing up for a good time. Meanwhile Danny Willett is the latest player to feel the love of the Portrush crowd, as he finishes with a round of 73 at -5. But Brooks Koepka uncharacteristically yips a short one at 17, and he’s back to -6. Very much a day to forget for the current PGA champion.

-15: Lowry (16)
-9: Fleetwood (16)
-7: Finau (F)

It’s been a miserable day for an awful lot of players. Jordan Spieth shot 77, ending back at -1. Henrik Stenson finished with a trio of bogeys; a 76 that puts him down to -1. Also at -1, Cameron Smith, who shot 76 as well. And now Lee Westwood nearly drains a long birdie putt on 18, but it fails to drop, and his aborted fairytale ends with a disappointing 73. He’s given a lovely warm reception, though, and he smiles broadly as he bows theatrically. He ends the week at -6, the sort of high finish few expected at the start of the week.

Lowry clears another hurdle, as he carefully threads his tee shot at 16 onto the front of the green. No time for heroics now. Fleetwood needs a miracle now – even an outrageous hole-in-one wouldn’t make the sort of gains he needs – but he can only send his tee shot just off the front left, and there are dramatic undulations between his ball and the hole. A simple two putts for Lowry, you’d think, but a lot of work to do for Fleetwood for his par.

Lowry strokes in his birdie putt! That’s put an end to a difficult run of holes, and he must know this Open is his now. He clenches his fist and pumps the air, bending over with the intensity of the moment. All Fleetwood can do is par, and the Portrush gallery, literally dampened during the tempest, spiritually so as Lowry stumbled a little, erupt in excitement. This is on! It’s really on now!

-15: Lowry (15)
-9: Fleetwood (15)
-7: Finau (F), Koepka (16)

And you fancy Shane Lowry is going to win one of these today! He clips a gorgeous wedge pin high at 15, and he’ll have a look at birdie from ten feet or so. Fleetwood surely has to match him, but can only send his to 30 feet. He trudges up to the green with a drained expression on his face. It’s not going to happen for him, unless something very strange and dramatic unfolds quite soon. Meanwhile birdie at the 18th for Jon Rahm, who smiles broadly at the end of a difficult 75. He ends his week at -3.

Tony Finau nearly rakes in a monster on 18 for birdie. It doesn’t drop, but he’s signing for a level-par 71 to end the week at -7. He’s the only one of the late starters not over par. So this’ll be his second top-five finish in the majors this season, after Augusta, and consecutive top-ten finishes at the Open. You fancy he’ll win one of these one day.

Fowler can’t make his birdie putt on 16. Such a shame after a lovely tee shot. Koepka birdies 15, his first of the day, and he joins Finau in third place at -7. And back on 15, Lowry and Fleetwood both find the fairway with their tee shots.

-14: Lowry (14)
-9: Fleetwood (14)
-7: Finau (17), Koepka (15)
-6: Westwood (17), Fowler (16)

Rickie Fowler hits one of the shots of the week at Calamity, the long par-three 16th. A low fade that curls into the front of the green, ten feet to the right of the flag. Meanwhile back on 14, it’s yet another bogey for Lowry, as he cradles his putt to the hole. No big problem, because Fleetwood has putted up from the bottom of the bank, and left himself a 15-footer for bogey. He really has to make it. He doesn’t make it. It slides by the right of the cup. A double, he cups his face in disbelief, and the lead is five again – but now there’s only four to play! Lowry so close now to realising his dream.

-14: Lowry (14)
-9: Fleetwood (14)

A real poser for Fleetwood, who is chipping blind over the hillock, from an angle that takes the bunker on the other side into play. He tries to flip into the heart of the green, and finds the short stuff, but his ball topples off the right and into the swale. He hangs his head, knowing perhaps that the jig might be up. Especially as Lowry clips up to 15 feet. Not a gimme for par, but he’s in match-play mode now. So long as he matches or betters Fleetwood’s score, he’ll be heel-kicking his way to the next tee.

Birdie for Rickie Fowler on 15! Unfortunately it comes after a run of two bogeys and a double in five holes. Still, he’s back to -6, and with the conditions doing a number on all the late starters, that’s a precious shot in the pursuit of a high finish that’ll make him feel a whole lot better once the sting of missing out on yet another major subsides.

Lowry whisks a hot one out of the rough. It skitters hysterically through the green, and he’s fairly fortunate that it stops in the first cut at the bottom of the swale. A few more inches, and he’d be chipping up from the thick, tangled tat. Fleetwood meanwhile opts to go for the green from the sand, 134 yards away. It’s short and right, and in some real bother behind a filthy hillock.

Fleetwood pearls a 3-wood over 300 yards. Too good. It’s into the bunker down the left of 14. Lowry tugs his tee shot into the thick rough down the same side, though his ball looks to be sitting OK. It’s visible from a distance, anyway, which has to be a good sign. Alex Noren signs for a 74 after coming back in 38; he finishes at -3. Bogey for Lee Westwood at 16; he’s -6. Meanwhile Xander Schauffele had an absolute nightmare today, out in 38, back in 40. His 78 won’t improve his mood at the end of a week in which he feels he’s been hung out to dry by the R&A. He ends up at +2.

Fleetwood’s putt is huge in the context of this Open. You’d think if he misses this, it’ll steady Lowry’s ship, which, while not yet rocking, has been gently swaying for the last 30 minutes or so. But in it goes. That turns the pressure back on Lowry, and though he makes his putt, it only just drops, threatening to turn left before the lip grabs the ball and swallows it down. Gulp. A couple of pars. But boy did they have to work for them.

-15: Lowry (13)
-11: Fleetwood (13)

Fleetwood, down the bottom of the swale, opens the face of his wedge and goes full Mickelson. He delicately lobs up onto the green – there’s not much of it to play with in front of the flag – and he leaves it ten feet short. Another must-make putt coming up, because Lowry splashes out from the wet sand to three feet. If this was match-play, it’d be advantage Lowry. It sort of is match-play. Advantage Lowry, then.

Fleetwood’s tee shot at the par-three 13th bounds over the back of the green. Not great. Lowry meanwhile tugs his into a huge bunker to the left. Not ideal either, but it looks as though he’s got a decent lie, and a splash out from sand is surely better than a chip up from the swale.

What a perfectly paced putt by Shane Lowry! He rolls his ball 50 feet up the green, sending it to rest just to the left of the cup. So nearly a sensational birdie, but he’d have taken two putts for his par. That suddenly puts a little bit of pressure on Fleetwood’s eagle effort. He surely needs to go for it, but can’t afford to trundle it way past. So he underhits it! It’s two feet short! That is incredibly poor in the circumstances. Then again, it is a birdie in difficult conditions, and suddenly Lowry’s lead is only – only! – four. Here’s the top-ten countdown.

-15: Lowry (12)
-11: Fleetwood (12)
-7: Finau (15), Westwood (14)
-6: Willett (14), Fowler (13), Koepka (13)
-5: MacIntyre (F), Hatton (F)
-4: Reed (F)

Now then. Lowry wedges in from 110 yards. It only just reaches the green. He’s left with a long birdie putt up. Having made three bogeys in the last four holes, these are worrying times for Ireland’s hero.

Lowry chops back onto the fairway. The door slightly ajar for Fleetwood. And he sends a long iron into the heart of the green, allowing the camber on the left to bring his ball pin high to 30 feet. Meanwhile the JB Holmes horror show continues to unfold. He sends his second at 12 into awful muck at the back of the green, and though they find his ball, he’s forced to take an unplayable. His second double bogey of the day, to go along with a triple, and having started at -10 this afternoon, he’s tumbled in extremely ungainly fashion all the way down to level par.

The crowd falls quiet, as they wonder whether the tide could be dramatically turning. On the par-five 12th, Fleetwood bashes a lovely drive down the middle. Lowry’s tee shot sails off to the right and disappears into the freak kale. Much may depend on how both players respond to this position. Can Fleetwood parlay this advantage into something meaningful on the scoreboard? Or will Lowry escape from a tight spot and refuse to give ground?

News of Lee Westwood, who you’ll have noticed has slipped to -7. Bogeys at 11, 12 and now 13, and his week is beginning to unravel. Perhaps, having allowed himself to dream the unexpected dream, the will has now gone. After so many disappointments in the majors, you can kind of understand it. A little boost for Justin Rose, though. He’d bogeyed 3, 6, 8, 9 and 11 to tumble down the rankings, but he strokes in a 20-footer on 12 to rise to -4.

Back with the final pairing. Lowry and Fleetwood are both on the green in regulation, but both have long putts for birdie. Fleetwood’s never looks like dropping, but he taps in for par. Lowry’s takes off as it leaves the face of his putter, though, and speeds eight feet past the hole. He’s left with a knee-knocker coming back. He pulls it left, perhaps his worst stroke of the week, and that’s his fourth bogey of the day, his third in the last four. The lead is down to five, which looks like a done deal, but when you’re chasing your first major, nothing is certain.

-15: Lowry (11)
-10: Fleetwood (11)
-7: Finau (14), Willett (13), Westwood (13), Fowler (11)
-6: Koepka (11)

Up on 18, Patrick Reed ends with a level-par 71. He’s -4 after his week’s work. His playing partner Justin Thomas signs for a 72 and he’s -3. Not looking too happy, either, after that triple on 17 cost him a few places. Henrik Stenson and Alex Noren take turns to bogey 14; they’re both -4. And a bogey for Danny Willett on 13, and he’s -7 again. With the wind up – and more rain heading this way, by all accounts – quite a few of the folk in the clubhouse will find themselves in very healthy positions come the end of play.

Brooks Koepka struggles his way up 11. He nearly salvages the situation with a long par saver, but the ball stops a turn short. It’s his first bogey since that horror four-bogey start, and he slips back to -6. He’s having a shocker, though nothing compared to his playing partner JB Holmes, who at one point was spotted up the left of 11, his head barely poking out the top of the tall rough, squirting a wedge straight right and into the punters on the other side. He runs up a triple bogey, and clatters all the way down to -2.

Lowry splits the fairway at 11. Fleetwood finds the semi-rough down the left. Meanwhile on 12, Westwood three-putts from distance, and he trudges off knowing all hopes of an unlikely fairytale are thoroughly extinguished now. Finau overshoots the green at the par-three 13th and it costs him a shot; he’s -7 again. And a birdie for Willett, who snatches back the shot he’d dropped at 11.

-16: Lowry (10)
-10: Fleetwood (10)
-8: Willett (12), Westwood (12)
-7: Finau (13), Fowler (11), Koepka (10)

… pulls his par putt to the left. “It was almost classic match-play,” notes Laura Davies on Sky. She’s not wrong. Lowry looked in a little bother there, but sunk his putt and turned all the pressure onto his opponent. And suddenly there are six shots in it again! That could have been the moment that sealed the deal for Lowry.

-16: Lowry (10)
-10: Fleetwood (10)

Neither Lowry nor Fleetwood can find the fairway at 10. And neither can find the green in regulation. Fleetwood bumps his third up from the front to four feet, and will have great chance of saving his par. Lowry gives himself a bit of work to do by chunking a chip from a tufty bank just over the back. He’s got a six-footer across a seriously sloping green. But in it goes! That’s a brilliant putt in the circumstances, and suddenly the pressure’s back on Fleetwood, who …

Tony Finau moves into fourth spot after birdie at 12. He’s -8 and on course for his second top-five finish in this year’s majors – he was tied fifth at Augusta – and consecutive top-ten finishes at the Open, having tied for ninth at Carnoustie last year. Danny Willett will soon join him, following bogey at 11 by nearly slam-dunking his approach into the cup at 12. He’ll tidy up for a bounce-back birdie.

Tyrrell Hatton threatened to challenge at times this week, but never quite maintained the required consistency. He’s had a fine four rounds regardless, and signs today for a 69. He’s in the clubhouse at -5, alongside Bob MacIntyre, and the pair are currently looking good for an invite back next year. Meanwhile the 2016 champ Henrik Stenson, who had stumbled out in 39, has since birdied 10 and now 13. He’s -5.

With some proper links weather having finally rocked up at this year’s Open, just in time, a few players are moving backwards. Bogey for Finau at 11; he’s -7. Willett follows bogey at 9 with another at 11; he’s -7 too. A double for Fowler at 10; he’s -7 and has just hooked his tee shot at 11 into green mince. And Thomas, who had been going along nicely, bogeys 13 then runs up a triple at 17 after losing a ball. He’s -3.

Lowry gives his putt a little bit too much on the left. That’s back-to-back bogeys for the leader, and he turns in level-par 36. Fleetwood knocks in his par effort, and he turns in 37. Just (!) the five in it now. Meanwhile Westwood, who had birdied 10, hands the shot straight back at 11.

-16: Lowry (9)
-11: Fleetwood (9)
-9: Westwood (11)

Lowry demonstrates the importance of taking your medicine when you’re in the jungle. He arrows his third from 140 yards to 15 feet, straight at the flag. A decent chance to save his par. And he’ll want to make it, because Fleetwood clips a wedge up the big green and spins his ball to a halt a couple of feet from the flag. It should be a birdie. It should be.

Lowry can only punch out from the rough. Fleetwood’s lie isn’t so bad, and he’s able to lash an iron towards the green, though the wind is so strong, covering the distance is beyond him. The rain has stopped again, so that’s something.