Rory McIlroy pays tribute to Shane Lowry by sharing boyhood photo

The Open

Rory McIlroy was able to put aside his bitter Open disappointment and congratulate Shane Lowry on his epic victory by sharing a throwback photo.

While many saw last week’s championship as a golden opportunity for McIlroy to break his five-year winless drought in the majors, that certainly wasn’t how things turned out, with the Northern Irishman all but sealing his fate on the very first hole when his opening drive went out of bounds, leading to a quadruple-bogey eight.

By contrast, Lowry enjoyed the best week of his golfing career, as he stormed to a memorable six-shot victory to clinch his first major title.

While McIlroy would no doubt still have been hurting after missing the cut and being forced to watch the weekend’s action from the sidelines that didn’t stop him from setting aside his own feelings and paying tribute to Lowry’s stunning triumph by sharing a picture of the duo together in their junior days.

“Even though last week wasn’t the week I had envisaged for myself, I couldn’t be happier and more proud of Shane Lowry,” McIlroy wrote on Instagram.

“How he handled everything over the weekend…. emotions, nerves and conditions tells you everything I’ve gotten to know about him over the past 15 years. 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year! Enjoy some good stuff out of the Claret Jug!”

Classy stuff from McIlroy.

Rory McIlroy Shane Lowry The Open

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