Shane Lowry wins the Amgen Irish Open by a record 11 shots at Doonbeg

How the Amgen Irish Open was won

The 39 year-old did it with the man who owns the golf course, US President Donald Trump, who waited on the 18th green to hand him the trophy.

However Lowry isn't a stranger to unfound success on the course.

The offaly man famously won this tournament as an amateur back in 2009.

Lowry carried a four-shot lead into Sunday's final round, effectively doubling it before the crowd had settled.

A closing 63 left him on 23 under par and ended a four-year wait for a win.

"It means a lot," he said straight afterwards. "Honestly I'm speechless, it's hard to talk, I just can't believe I've just done that and done it the way I've done it as well."

The golfer drained a birdie on his very first hole. He then added three more at the fifth, seventh and eighth hole.

With a bogey at the ninth, the only blemish on the card, and a chance to take it all home, Lowry was determined to chase the same high he experienced 17 years ago.

It is a home winner two years running, after Rory McIlroy's victory at the K Club.

McIlroy signed off with his best round of the week, a 67 that left him one under par overall.

"Obviously it wasn't the week that I wanted, but at the same time I don't feel too far away, and I feel good about going into Wentworth next week," he said.

'I sat in Croke Park last Saturday night'

Lowry has had a hard season on the course, and he did not pretend otherwise.

He revealed he had set himself a target of 20 under par, afraid someone would come out of the pack, and that the fight on Sunday was mostly with himself.

Lowry spoke to RTE Sport, sharing his thoughts throughout the tournament: "You're through five or six holes, you've got a good lead and every time your lead gets more, sometimes the doubts can creep into your head about how big of a disaster it would be if you didn't win."

"I went out and I went after it today and I felt like I did a great job."

He was in the crowd for Katie Taylor's farewell at Croke Park the previous weekend, and admitted it had stayed with him.

"I sat in Croke Park last Saturday night watching Katie Taylor with almost a little bit of jealousy," he said.

"Something like this feels as big as it gets for me," he then added on Doonberg.

Esker Hills, and the president who stayed on to watch

Back in Offaly, the clubhouse at Esker Hills, where Lowry started out, was packed to capacity.

"We've had excitement here before and we always think it won't get better from the last time, but as Shane said afterwards, it just gets better and better," club manager Ray Molloy told RTE News.

He added that it was "ridiculous" how he won the Open "so easily".

A new picture was due to go up on the club's hall of fame on Monday morning.

Trump, who owns the Doonbeg resort and whose visit to Co Clare had already filled every hotel room in the county, said he had changed his travel plans to see the finish.

"I was with Shane last night and he's got an infectious personality," he said.

"I said 'you know I'm supposed to leave this morning... but I'm going to stay and watch Shane win'. And he did win."

You can read RTE Sport's full report from Doonbeg here.