The Open returns to Royal Portrush this week, six years on from Shane Lowry’s stunning 2019 triumph in front of record crowds – as he managed to upstage his great mate Rory McIlroy.

On the admittedly much-changed course that McIlroy posted a record score on as a 16-year-old amateur in 2005, his homecoming in 2019 was a rough one that ended in tears as he agonisingly missed the cut by one, following up a disastrous opening 79 that included a quadruple-bogey eight at the first with a stirring 65 that wasn’t quite enough.

Lowry’s week, contrastingly, was a triumphant one, the Irishman emerging from McIlroy’s shadow to clinch a six-stroke victory over Tommy Fleetwood in front of some 237,000 spectators who made their way through the gates to witness his crowning moment.

Six years on from Lowry’s ‘dream’ Portrush run

“Doing something like that is a lifelong dream,” Lowry reflected this week.

“You can’t look at that in anything other than a positive way. If you look at it any other way, you’re in the wrong game.”

With The Open having returned to Royal Portrush for the first time since 1951, back-to-back 67s had given Lowry a share of the halfway lead with JB Holmes on eight under, before he stormed clear with a course-record 63 on the Saturday that had him four shots up on Fleetwood in second going into the final day.

At the time, Lowry became the 12th player since 2000 to be leading in a major by four or more strokes at the 54-hole mark, with only three of them failing to go on and win – including himself at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont.

Lowry had two top-10 finishes to his name prior – at the 2014 PGA Championship and 2015 US Open – but Oakmont was his first tangible opportunity for major glory and it saw him blow his four-shot advantage by the end of his front nine, Dustin Johnson ultimately emerging victorious.

Alarm bells, therefore, must have been ringing when on Sunday at Portrush, Lowry left himself a tricky six-foot putt for bogey at the first and Fleetwood stood over a makeable birdie chance.

But instead of a potential three-stroke swing after the opening hole, Lowry holed his putt as Fleetwood missed, the one dropped shot almost treated as a success for the Irishman, who proceeded to stretch his lead to six when birdieing three in a four-hole span from the fourth.

Three bogeys in four followed round the turn as the worst of the weather rolled in, but the elements also wreaked havoc on his main rivals and he maintained a commanding enough cushion to enjoy the memorable celebrations of the partisan crowd down the closing stretch.

Lowry ready for Portrush return: I’m better than in 2019

Lowry now takes on the role of a much-celebrated returning champion this week, a mural having been painted of him on a house in Portrush.

“I didn’t know what to make of it at the start – and everyone that comes up here keeps sending me pictures standing beside it,” Lowry said, before joking: “I can’t say what some of them were doing [in the photos]. But it is very special.”

Lowry added: “It’s amazing to be back. We’ve only had five Opens since the last here in Portrush, which just goes to show what the R&A and the organisers think of this venue.

“Obviously I’m a little bit biased, but I think it’s one of the best venues.

“There’s a lot of memories and there’s a lot of thinking back to what I did. What I did was very special; to walk down the 18th hole with a six-shot lead, I’m probably never going to do that again, so I’m not going to try and replicate that.

“It doesn’t give me any God-given right to do anything special this week. I just need to get my head down on Thursday morning, get after it and see what happens.”

Lowry’s game is in relatively good order, having pushed himself into the world’s top 10 earlier this year (currently 18th), with second-placed finishes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – losing out to McIlroy – and the Truist Championship, albeit that is a source of frustration to the 38-year-old along with recent missed cuts at the PGA Championship and US Open.

“I kind of pride myself on not missing cuts, especially in the big events,” Lowry said. “I feel like I can always get myself there or thereabouts and I have done over the last number of years.

“I’ve been consistently quite good this year. I’ve given myself a couple of chances to win, which I’m very disappointed that I didn’t, but we’ve got a few months left to kind of redeem myself and get a win on the board.”

He added: “I’ve still got certain things that I’d like to achieve in the game, and I’m working very hard at that.

“I’m a better golfer than I was in 2019, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and win by seven this year instead of six. It’s just golf; that’s the way it is.”

Masters champion McIlroy set for second homecoming

‘A better golfer’ and a much-celebrated champion, but as Lowry returns to the scene of his 2019 triumph, he does so with the spectre of another McIlroy homecoming also looming large – now with the career Grand Slam to his name.

Lowry admitted to mixed feelings for his friend’s crowning triumph at The Masters earlier this year, saying afterwards: “Honestly, it was the weirdest day ever for me.”

He had been prickly with the media after his third round, back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18 seeing him slip seven off the pace set by McIlroy, who he wasn’t prepared to entertain questions over.

“I’m not going to stand here and talk about Rory for 10 minutes,” Lowry said at the time. “I’m trying to win the tournament as well.”

Lowry’s Masters would finish with an ugly 81 on the Sunday as McIlroy ended his 11-year major drought and clinched the career Grand Slam in spectacular fashion – and such is the pair’s bond that, even with the disappointment of his final-round collapse, Lowry was the first player there to hug his friend amid the celebrations.

“He’s done everything there is to do in the game,” Lowry said of McIlroy on Monday. “He finished that in April. And his constant drive to get better every day is admirable.

“We have become quite close over the last number of years, and I think it’s helped both of us.

“I think I help him but he helps me as well. I certainly feel like I’ve learned a lot from his work ethic and how I apply myself to the game now.”

Lowry and McIlroy certainly form a formidable pair, be that when teaming up to win the 2024 Zurich Classic, starring in a Full Swing episode about said success, when backing each other up in a Ryder Cup – even during a spat in a car park – or when headlining a homecoming at Portrush.

While McIlroy may still take top billing this week, and Lowry might even have to field a few questions about him, the spotlight will rightly also shine on the 2019 champion this week.

“It is a big event for all us Irish people here this week,” Lowry said. “It’s huge.

“I reckon that first tee that morning in 2019 was the most nervous I’ve ever been on the first tee of a tournament. All you want to do is get the ball down the fairway, and obviously Rory didn’t do that.

“All we want to do is give ourselves a chance come the weekend, and if you give yourself a chance, you never know what could happen and if you do something very special.”

How can I watch The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open, with live coverage from all seven days of tournament week from July 14-20 and round-the-clock coverage of the final men’s major of the year.

There are seven hours of live coverage on the Monday and Tuesday practice days at Royal Portrush before a bumper nine hours of live programming on Wednesday, starting at 9am each morning.

Wall-to-wall coverage of The Open then begins at 6.30am on Thursday July 17 on Sky Sports Golf, with live action available for all four tournament days and a host of extra feeds also available on Sky Sports+.

Who will win The Open? Watch the final men’s major of the year throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream The Open and more top sport with no contract.

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