|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE 148TH OPENJuly 21, 2019Shane LowryPortrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom MIKE WOODCOCK: Very excited to welcome our champion Golfer of the Year, Shane Lowry, to the interview room. Shane, firstly, congratulations on a tremendous performance. I don't know if it's sunk in yet. But tell us how you're feeling right now. SHANE LOWRY: I'm feeling unbelievably calm, to be honest. I don't know why. It's not going to sink in for a couple of days, is it? It's just incredible to be sitting here with a trophy in front of me. Look at the names on it. Yeah, I just can't believe -- like I said, I couldn't believe that it was me. I couldn't believe it was happening. I thought about it all day but I didn't really let myself think about it until I hit my tee shot on 17. As soon as I hit that tee shot I knew that I couldn't really lose a ball from there, and that's how I felt. So it's an incredible feeling, yeah. MIKE WOODCOCK: What about the reception you've had from the fans? SHANE LOWRY: Oh, my God. It was amazing. It's hard to believe. It's just hard to believe. I think a lot of people from where I'm from, I spotted a few people in the crowd, and I think a lot of people made the last-minute journey up here this morning because I was leading. And it was just -- it was great out there today. It's funny, I sometimes struggle to play in front of the home crowd and have done in the past, but not over the last few days. I played lovely. It's obviously very nice. Q. With the scoring, et cetera, it looks incredibly comfortable. Can you explain when you're in the midst of it, I dare say it's not like that at all, what was the emotion? SHANE LOWRY: Obviously I had a nice healthy lead going out and I hit a ropy tee shot on the first. I hit actually a decent second shot but it didn't go as far as I thought it was going to go. I actually hit a lovely shot. Then you're standing on the first green, Tommy has a great chance of birdie and I'm putting for bogey from eight feet. There's a potential three-shot swing. He misses, I make, and there's only one shot. That settled me an awful lot. Then when I had it kind of around the turn, I had a look at a few leaderboards, and it was so hard out there. When that big shower came in on the 8, the 9 tee shot was just like put the ball down and hope for the best because it was incredible, the rain that was coming down. Then I think when I started to feel comfortable was after 14. I had a lovely one on 13. Tommy had missed the green and I hit a bad tee shot there. It was a silly bad tee shot. It was an easy 9-iron downwind, should be hitting the green with that. To get that opening that was huge. To be honest, I played the last five holes, I thought I played -- even though I bogeyed 14, I thought I played the last five holes incredibly well. And I felt incredibly good. I felt like I was going to do it, especially after 14 when Tommy went double, I went bogey. But I went 5 ahead with four to play. Q. If you've got to pick a major to win, the Claret Jug, I'm sure it's beyond your wildest dreams. Talk about your emotions coming down the 18th fairway. And to have Padraig Harrington who set the ball in motion for most of the Irish golfers by winning this when you were only 20 years of age. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I didn't -- obviously I said about when I hit my tee shot on 17. I hit my tee shot there on 18, that was it. It was home and holes then. And I started to enjoy it then. It was just incredible to walk down 18. The crowd is going wild. Singing "Olé, Olé." It's like something that -- I just couldn't believe it was happening to me. And to have like -- it was nice, very nice of Paddy and G-Mac to be standing on the back of the tee for me. And Gary Murphy was there as well, who is a good friend of mine and was great to me when I started out on Tour. And obviously to have all my friends and family. I spotted my family when I walked around the corner to have a look where the flag was, and I spotted them all at the back of the green. To be honest, I welled up a little bit and Bo told me to catch a hold of myself, I still have to hit a shot. Thankfully I hit a decent shot in there and two-putted. To be honest, like, I walked down there and I tried to soak it in as much as I could. It was hard to soak it in because it's very surreal. It's a very surreal experience going down there. Especially with, I'm sure there was a lot of the crowd that wanted me to win today. So it was quite surreal, yeah. Q. I asked you on Thursday and then again on Friday to talk about what you feel the symbolism of all this is. You said on Friday, Ask me on Sunday. So I'd like to ask you, if you can just take a step back, what do you think this says? Is there a message? It hadn't been here since '51. An Irish golfer wins. We know the history outside of sports in this island. Do you think there's a message here? Do you think there's some symbolism here? Is it emotional for you? SHANE LOWRY: I'd be very surprised -- if you see how the tournament went this week, this is my 8th Open Championship, it was the best one I've ever played in. The way it was ran, the golf course, everybody was raving about the golf course, how good it was. So I'd be very surprised if it's not back here in the next ten years. Portrush have just been incredible. Obviously I've had success here in the past in amateur events. I knew coming up that I liked the place. But I didn't want to get too ahead of myself or anything. But, look, to be able to go home this evening. I'm home now, you know what I mean? To be able to win it at home. And it was just so easy for people to make the trip up to watch me. To be able to go out and celebrate with local people is just -- yeah, it's obviously very nice. Q. Bo on the bag, talk about his input this week. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, Bo has been incredible the last year. He started caddying for me about September last year, and just when I started to play well again. So he's just, like, he's brought a new lease on life to me. He is so thrilled. He was unbelievable today. He kept on my back all day, kept talking to me, he kept in my ear. I kept on telling him how nervous I was, how scared I was, how much I didn't want to mess it up, how that I can't -- all I could think about was walking down 18 with a four- or five-shot lead. And lucky I got to do that. But, yeah, he was great at keeping me in the moment today. He's been great for me. Like I said, you see my results since then have been good. Obviously we formed a great relationship and it was amazing for him today. They had a baby two weeks ago and his wife drove up today, and his little boy was here. It was amazing. I've known Bo a long time. He's now become a very good friend of mine. And to be able to share it with someone so close was very special, yeah. Q. Look back to your talk with Neil on Wednesday, I believe it was, when you went over to Bushmills for the coffee. And what he said and what your mindset was, how far away the thought of winning the Claret Jug would be in four or five days later, and what kind of an impact that had on the week for you. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, I think it changed a lot because I was quite nervous and anxious Wednesday evening and we went for that chat. You come up here, and I suppose the other lads would have had it as well, G-Mac and the lads. The last thing you want to do is come up here and miss the cut. That's the last thing you want to do. And that was kind of in my mind. I wanted to play at least four days, and wanted to put up a good show for myself. Being in home. I was showing good form over the last while. So, yeah, it really settled me down. I said after that -- well, I left the Bushmills Inn the other night and I really felt like I could go out and perform to the best of my ability the next day. So it obviously helped me an awful lot along the way. Q. I just wonder if you could talk us through your emotions and your thoughts when you saw your daughter run on the 18th just after you'd sunk your putt. And also did you say you'd been in the pub the other night and then you came out feeling like you could win? SHANE LOWRY: I wasn't in the pub, I was in having a coffee. It was a hotel. Q. Glad we clarified that. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah. Q. Can you tell us why, it seemed you played the whole round in a T-shirt. Was it hot out there? SHANE LOWRY: I had a body warmer, gilets they call them. Q. You seemed to be stripping off while everybody else was buttoning up. SHANE LOWRY: I had my wet pants on, as well. I was warm enough. I'm not sure I was able to feel anything out there, I was so worked up. Q. When your daughter came on the 18th. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah. Actually, look, that means everything, doesn't it? We have one from Abu Dhabi this year, and we're going to have another one. My wife knew no matter what to have her there waiting for me because if things didn't go to plan, at least she would have consoled me a little bit. To have her there, winning, obviously it's very special. Look, I'm going to be coming back on another 27 Opens to play (laughter). She's going to be nearly 30 when I play my last one. That's going to be nice. Yeah. Look, I'll be able to show her, she'll be able to see those pictures in years to come and it will be a nice memory to have. Q. I wonder if you thought of winning an Open as a child, and when did you think, You know what, maybe I have the game to win a major? And sort of as a follow-on to that, how far away did that feel in Carnoustie 12 months ago? SHANE LOWRY: I suppose I didn't even know going out this morning if I was good enough to win a major. I knew I was able to put a few days together. I knew I was able to play the golf course. I just went out there and tried to give my best. And look, I'm here now, a major champion. I can't believe I'm saying it, to be honest. I think the people around me really believed that I could, which helped me an awful lot. I do remember a lot of times in the past when I'm down on myself and serious chats with Neil, he always reminded me, he always said that I was going to win one, at least one, he said. So I suppose when the people around you really believe in you, it helps you an awful lot. Yeah, obviously, look, I'm Irish. I grew up holing putts back home to win The Open. It was always The Open, wasn't it? I watched Paddy win his two Opens. I didn't even know him back then. I'm obviously very good friends with him. To have him there on the 18th, like you go into Paddy's house and the Claret Jug is sitting on the kitchen table, and I'm going to have one on my kitchen table, as well. I said that to him, as well, that's going to be quite nice. Carnoustie, look, that just shows how fickle golf is. Golf is a weird sport and you never know what's around the corner. That's why you need to remind yourself, and you need other people there to remind you. You need to fight through the bad times. I sat in the car park in Carnoustie on Thursday, almost a year ago right to this week, and I cried. I didn't -- golf wasn't my friend at the time. It was something that become very stressful and it was weighing on me and I just didn't like doing it. And, look, 12 -- what a difference a year makes, I suppose. Q. You won the North of Ireland Amateur Championship here in 2008. You actually beat a friend of mine in the final. I'm just wondering -- SHANE LOWRY: I couldn't stop thinking about him all week, because he shanked his tee shot out of bounds on the first. That's all I could think about on the first hole (laughter). He's going to kill me for that. Q. I was just wondering how much you drew on the memories of perhaps that week and how much maybe that week cemented your belief about what you could do in your professional career? SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, that was around the time where I was starting to win tournaments regularly as an amateur. Back then I got beaten in the final here in 2007 by Gareth Shaw, and I won in 2008. And I was playing top golf, top-level golf for Ireland. So obviously I won the Irish Open less than a year after that. So I think around that year, because 2008 was the year I really thought I could make a good career out of this. I'm not sure I drew on it much this week. The thing is, when you win somewhere and when you like a place, when you come back here, you've got fond memories, which maybe that helped me a little bit. I haven't been back here a whole lot since. I played the Irish Open in 2012 and I was here a month ago for a practice round. Just when you come back to a place that you've been successful at, you walk in the clubhouse, I walked in the clubhouse a month ago and you see your name on the board, and it's going to be on the board again. That's pretty nice. Q. Delighted that you remembered him, anyway. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah. Q. Just a two-parter, you talked about holing putts as a kid. Was there a time, given your father, you thought that you were thinking of scoring goals rather than putts? The second part, you gate-crashed in a way on the Tour in 2009. Could you talk about the support of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley in that transition. SHANE LOWRY: I was always a bit too slow for the big ball so I knew where the goals were, but I was never good enough. Like, I played football growing up, and football was obviously huge in my house. It was everything where I was from, the town we grew up in. I was in school, 500 kids, and I was the only person that played golf. That's kind of where we came from. When I, as you say, gatecrashed on to the Tour, there's a lot of people that helped me along the way. First of all, when I came out Gary Murphy, Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie never -- made sure that -- I was young and they made sure that I was always -- I flew with them, same flights, stayed in the same hotels, went to dinner with them, played practice rounds with them. They were great for me. And obviously Paddy and G-Mac have just been -- they're two really good friends of mine now. To be able to hang around with someone like Padraig Harrington who is, as we all know, like I think paved the way for the success of Irish golfers. I'm just so happy I can add my name to the list of major champions. I used to curse them an awful lot in the past because that's all anybody wanted to know about in Ireland because they were winning so many majors. When are you going to win one? Winning regular events wasn't good enough for anyone. Yeah, obviously, look, to be able to -- we're very lucky Irish golfers. People might say there's not enough Irish golfers on Tour. But look at the standard of Irish golfers we have. Rory McIlroy is one of the best players in the world, if not the best on his day. And G-Mac I think is getting his stroke back. And the careers that Paddy and Darren and those guys have had is just incredible. Q. Was there anything about last night or this morning that was made easier by what you went through at Oakmont? SHANE LOWRY: No. No, I struggled last night because we finished very late last night. When I got out of here it was like 8:30 or 8:20 or so. Got back to the house and had food, and went to bed at 11:00. But obviously I didn't sleep very well. I slept for about four or five hours last night, and I normally throw a good 8, 10 hours at it. So wake up in the middle of the night thinking about all sorts. And I was awake at half 6:00 this morning. So the tee time moved forward was quite nice. It was a couple of hours earlier than it was yesterday. Look, I think I knew that I had to fight to the bitter end today, and that's what helped me. And that's where I struggled in Oakmont. I always said after Oakmont, if I could have got the last four holes back, I'd give anything to be standing on the 14th fairway again. I knew today that I was going to have to fight to the very end, and I did. I didn't let myself -- I let myself think about it on 17, enjoy it. But you're still hitting shots. Links golf, bunkers, rough, all sorts can happen out there. I let myself really, really enjoy it going down 18. But before that I was really just fighting until the end. Q. Aside what this does for the life and times of Shane Lowry, I don't know how you better that, you may find a way, but what will it do for Irish sport, not just golf? And also a big day and a big win for the European Tour. SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, obviously I've learned my trade on the European Tour. I'm a European Tour member. I love playing the European Tour. I'll be back in September to start my quest of making the Ryder Cup team next year, and that's my focus the next 12 months. I think it's huge for Irish golf. I think it's big for Irish sport. I think -- how do I say this without sounding -- I'm a huge sports fan. People know that. People in Ireland know that. I'm a big GA man, which is our sport in Ireland. I think it's a very tight-knit community that is, and I think those people will -- I'd say people that watch golf today that never watched golf before, that's probably how I'd say it. Q. You don't win often but you win big, an Open, two WGCs, you've won an Irish Open. SHANE LOWRY: One. Q. One Rolex. You don't win often but you do win big. Can you win bigger again next year? Can this be a springboard to not just Ryder Cup -- SHANE LOWRY: Geez, let me enjoy this one (laughter). Q. Can you take it on again? SHANE LOWRY: Look, I'm obviously -- the one thing you want to do is you want to back up your success. So obviously in the short-term I'm going to enjoy this, there's no doubt about that. But in the long-term you obviously want to back up your success. Yeah, my big goal still remains the same and that is to be on the plane going to Whistling Straits next year. That's my plan for the next 12 months. Hopefully that involves a couple of wins along the way. This is huge for me. Obviously a major championship and my first season winning twice. I have a lot to play for now. I'm well up there in the FedExCup now, which is nice. And I'm well up with the rest of the boys. So I've got a busy few months ahead of me and I'm very excited. But I'm really going to enjoy this first. MIKE WOODCOCK: Shane, we've all enjoyed watching you play this week. Congratulations again, and fantastic performance. SHANE LOWRY: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|