Shane Lowry won the Amgen Irish Open by a record 11 strokes on Sunday, closing with a seven-under-par 63 to finish 23 under at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare.
The victory was the 38-year-old's seventh career title and his second Irish Open win, following his triumph in 2009 as a 22-year-old amateur. US President Donald Trump presented Lowry with the trophy on the 18th green.
Lowry, who began the final round with a four-shot lead, carded eight birdies and just one bogey, at the ninth. He drained 45-foot putts at the par-three 7th and the par-four 15th, sending the crowd into a frenzy, and sealed his win with another long-range birdie at the last.
"This year has been quite difficult on the course for me," an emotional Lowry said after his triumph. "I've had a few chances to win, and there's been some really tough times. To come here this week and do this, I don't do things by half measures! I can't believe I'm standing here with that leaderboard. This has been the most spectacular week. It has been unreal."
Lowry said his wife and children had supported him through a difficult year on tour. "My daughter is always asking me when you're going to bring a trophy home," he said. "So, yes, I'm going to bring one home."
A season of near misses
The win capped a turnaround for Lowry after a run of painful losses earlier in the season. He was beaten by two strokes at the Dubai Invitational after a double bogey on the final hole, and threw away a three-shot lead with three holes to play at the Cognizant Classic, closing with two double bogeys.
Trump's tariff announcement
Trump, who also watched Saturday's play, was cheered by the crowd and greeted with chants of "USA" as he told spectators he was removing tariffs on Irish whiskey, saying he had discussed the move with Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Martin, along with minister of state Charlie McConalogue, attended the trophy presentation on the 18th green.
Record-breaking week
Lowry's commanding position going into the final round stemmed largely from a course-record 62 he shot in the second round on Friday, eight strokes under par.
The rest of the leaderboard
Jacob Skov Olesen, who started Sunday four shots back at 12 under, slipped down the leaderboard with a three-over 73. Patrick Reed shot a closing 64 and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen a 63 to finish second and third, though Lowry had already pulled well clear. Joaquin Niemann shared second with Reed on 12 under, with Neergaard-Petersen a shot further back.
England's Alex Fitzpatrick tied for seventh at nine under. Sergio Garcia closed with a 64 to finish six under, matching Robert MacIntyre and Matt Wallace, among others. Jon Rahm finished four under.
McIlroy's defence ends at one under
Defending champion Rory McIlroy finished his title defence at one under par after a closing 67, his best round of the week, ending 22 shots behind Lowry.
"I've seen enough good stuff this week to give me encouragement going into next week," McIlroy said. "It's a golf course that I know well and one I've had success on. Obviously this wasn't the week that I wanted but, at the same time, I don't feel too far away and I feel good going into Wentworth."
"I thought I hit the ball pretty well for the most part. A couple of bad decisions off the tees yesterday but, overall, my iron play was a lot better, my wedge play was pretty good for the most part and obviously it was a struggle on the greens," he said. "That was the difficult thing and why I wasn't able to get myself into contention. I need a little bit of time on the putting green the next couple days and to get familiar with the greens at Wentworth again."
McIlroy won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2014 and has finished runner-up there three times since.
What's next
The DP World Tour moves to Wentworth in Surrey, England, next week for the BMW PGA Championship, the tour's flagship event.
