The Clara native got the bad news as he headed towards the 18th.
As a keen Offaly GAA fan, Shane Lowry was hoping to finish as strong as possible at The Irish Open and then hear about some minor hurling success.
Not too far from where he teed off, at Mount Juliet Golf Club in Kilkenny, a promising team of young Offaly hurlers were in All-Ireland Minor Final action, at Nowlan Park, against Tipperary. Before he headed out on the course, Lowry passed on his support.
Big day of sport ahead. Hoping for a strong finish here at the @IrishOpen_
and all the best to the @Offaly_GAA minors in the All Ireland final today. 💪🏻🇮🇪☘️— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) July 3, 2022
Lowry ended up carding his best round of the tournament with a final day 67, to finish in a tie for 9th, on -12. The event was won by Adrian Meronk on Poland, and Lowry would later joke that, after weekend rounds of 68 and 67, he wished it had been a six-round tournament.
What was no laughing matter was hearing about how those Offaly Minors lost the final with the final puck of the game. Tipperary’s Paddy McCormack timed his run and jump superbly to get his side the late, winning goal.
The skill from Paddy McCormack here is beyond unbelievable 🙌
It’s not over till it’s over… pic.twitter.com/7RbWlbZou0
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) July 3, 2022
Shane Lowry offers advice to Offaly players
Following his Irish Open outing, Shane Lowry told reporters how fans in the crowd had been keeping him in the loop about that Offaly vs. Tipperary game.
“I was walking to 17 tee and everybody was telling me they had won,” the 2019 Open champion said.
“I see my brother in the stand on 17 and he gave me the thumbs down – [Tipperary] goal in the last minute. Devastating for those young lads.
“I’m sure they are distraught this afternoon but that’s sport. But you’ll have your ups and your downs, and they will pick themselves up and move on and hopefully it’s a bright future for them.”
Lowry is in action today and Tuesday at the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor Golf Club in Limerick. Also at the event are actors Bill Murray and Jamie Dornan, music star Niall Horan and golfing heavyweights like Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.
Lowry said he will play some links golf around Dublin as he prepares for The Open Championship at St Andrew’s.
“Go to Portmarnock maybe,” he said, “and might take a trip up to Baltray, some good memories there. Some links golf and a bit of relaxing, as well, because it was pretty hectic this week, and the next two days are going to be a long couple of days, as well.”
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