Shane Lowry received huge applause as he finished his final round of The Open, which ended before both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler got their rounds underway.
Lowry finished his week on a high with a final round 66 to end on two-under, having won The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Another success wasn’t meant to be this time around, with world number one Scheffler closing in on the Claret Jug.
He gets his fourth round underway shortly with a healthy four-shot lead over Haotong Li, with McIlroy six shots behind in T4.
McIlroy missed the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019, but still received huge support from his followers on home soil.
What Shane Lowry told Rory McIlroy before the final round of The Open
That support will now be repeated as he looks to push Scheffler all the way, with Lowry also hopeful his close friend McIlroy can pull off a miracle on Sunday.
Sharing his verdict on the leader and what could lie ahead in the final round, Lowry said after finishing his tournament: “I would say it was probably a bigger challenge for me than it will be for him mentally. I think Scottie, I played with him the first two days, it’s unbelievable how good he is.
“He doesn’t do anything wrong and even when he does he seems to get himself out of trouble. He has a great short game and he’s putting great this week. All the expectation is on him.
“I said to Rory last night hopefully he can go out and get off to a good start and get the crowd on his side and you never know what could happen, but it’s hard to see Scottie not winning from here.”
And when asked if the course gives the chasing pack a chance to shoot a low score, he replied: “It does, but it gives Scottie the chance to shoot three or four under and if he shoots three or four under he is not going to be caught I don’t think. The course is getable, it is firming up a little bit but it is getable.”
Shane Lowry shares honest reflection on his week at The Open at Royal Portrush
McIlroy has been under huge pressure at Royal Portrush from his very first tee shot, given his success this season and of course his reputation in Northern Ireland.
But many eyes were also on Lowry, with fans perhaps expecting a stronger week from the 2019 Open champion than what transpired.
He did, however, still receive a lengthy applause as he approached the 18th green, having celebrated at that very spot six years ago.
Summarising his final reception this year, Lowry said: “This is very cool. Today was the most fun I have had on the golf course for a long time.
“I thought the fans were brilliant, and I’m very grateful for the support I have had out there. Reflection on the week as a whole is that I am disappointed.
“I worked very hard coming in here and felt like I did a lot of things right but from the 15th hole on Friday I felt like nothing went my way for the next 24 hours. But it was nice to get out there and shoot a good score today and finish the week on a high.”
Lowry’s two-stroke penalty in round two certainly didn’t help his cause for another success at The Open, and neither did his third round 74.
But he bounced back on Sunday with a fantastic final round, with Lowry now likely to keep a close eye on McIlroy’s pursuit of the leading man.
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