Shane Lowry closed out a dominating performance at Royal Portrush on Sunday with a tremendous six-stroke victory to claim the claret jug in the 148th Open Championship.
Lowry pulled away from the field in Saturday’s third round with an 8-under 63 to take a five-stroke lead into the final round. Nobody got closer than within three on Sunday.
Following the greatest win to date for the Irishman, he had plenty of complimentary words for his caddie – Bo Martin – who hails from Ardglass, Northern Ireland, about two hours southeast of Portrush in County Down.
“Bo has been incredible the last year,” Lowry said. “He started caddying for me in September last year and just when I started to play well again. He’s brought a new lease on life to me.”
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Lowry joined an impressive list – Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Tiger Woods and Louis Oosthuizen – as the only players to win the Open by six shots or more in the last 100 years. He credited Martin with keeping him in the moment over the final 18 holes at Portrush.
“He’s so chilled and he was unbelievable today,” Lowry said. “He kept on my back all day, he kept talking to me, kept in my ear. I kept telling him how nervous I was, how scared I was. How I didn’t want to mess it up. All I could think about was walking down 18 with a 4-5 shot lead. Luckily, I got to do that. But, yeah, he was great at keeping me in the moment today. He’s been great for me. Just look at the results since he started with me.”
Along with Sunday’s win, the pair also won the Abu Dhabi Championship on the European Tour in January.
The success has also translated to the PGA Tour, where Lowry has played most of his golf this season with three top 10s, including a T3 at the Heritage and a T3 at the RBC Canadian Open.
“Obviously, we’ve formed a great relationship and it was amazing for him today, as well,” Lowry said. “They had a baby two weeks ago and his wife drove over today, and his little boy was here. It’s amazing to be able to share this with him. I’ve known Bo a long time and he’s now become a very good friend of mine. To be able to share it with someone so close is special.”