“I hadn’t drank a brandy since 2009 – drank two yesterday, it nearly killed me.”
While we’d love to say that Shane Lowry displayed nerves of steel to clinch The Open, the fact of the matter is that Ireland’s newest Major golfing champion was so dominant over the weekend that the outcome was rarely in doubt.
As he approached the final hole on his last round at Royal Portrush, the 32-year-old from Offaly had a commanding lead over Tommy Fleetwood as he carded a closing 72 to become the fifth Irish player to lift the Claret Jug.
Throughout the weekend, Lowry dominated the field and showed absolutely no signs of nerves or jitters.
However, his grandmother Emily Scanlon certainly did!
Speaking with RTÉ, she said that the jitters were almost too much. So much so, that it led to her having her first brandy in ten years.
“I drank two yesterday, it’s nearly killing me. But it’s great. It’s great being able to see all of this happen,” she said.
While The Open is undoubtedly the biggest achievement in Lowry’s career to date, it’s certainly not the first because he also won the the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, and the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Despite these impressive feats, his grandmother still remembers her grandson’s early success, namely the Mullingar Scratch Cup.
“He came home [after winning the cup] and I was shouting at him, saying get out there and bring me in a bucket of turf. He said: You won’t see Tiger Woods bringing in turf. You know, he thought he was Tiger Woods when he won the Mullingar Scratch Cup,” said Mrs Scanlon.
Take a look at the wonderful interview below.
'I hadn't drank a brandy since 2009 – drank two yesterday, it's nearly killing me.' Shane Lowry’s grandmother speaks of a proud day pic.twitter.com/qqgCBRifNC
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 22, 2019
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