Ahead of a potential glorious coronation at the US Open tonight, Shane Lowry has long since catapulted himself out of the realm of Ireland's most beloved sportsman and into the top twenty golfers in the world. But there's something about Lowry that makes him even more than just an excellent golfer.
He is unquestionably one of the most popular sportsmen in the country. It seems that the eagerness to see Lowry do something in the majors exceeds that of other Irish golfers.
See Des Cahill's remarks the Sunday of the US Open Final Round in June.
We will aim here to get to the heart of the man's popularity. There's just something recognisable about the kid...
He knows how to celebrate a win...
'Yes, we did it!'
Lowry giddily embraced his caddy and his parents after Ross Fisher's miss on the 18th meant he claimed the 2012 Portugal Masters
If that wasn't enough, his fist pumping on the eighteenth was something the golfing world hasn't seen since Tiger Woods was at his best.
What a show, Shane Lowry.
Congratulations to the WGC-Bridgestone winner. #QuickHits http://t.co/Qb7Z4jkiua— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 9, 2015
He used so much water for his ice-bucket challenge last year that the nearby local authority had to issue drought warnings
Remember the ice bucket challenge?
You know he would be well contented with this caption
Even if Lowry was to reach no.1 in the world and win multiple major titles, this caption will still be the go-to blurb.
He likes to get involved in the age-old League of Ireland debate
@sportsdes @stpatsfc I agree. If people put as much effort into teams in Ireland as they do to teams in the uk then our league might grow.
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) July 12, 2014
This is how Lowry spends the early hours on the Sunday he is contending for a Major
As documented by Philip Reid in the Irish Times on Saturday.
His explanation for bouncing back after missing the cut at the Masters...
This is a man with a proper perspective on life.
If there was a positive to missing the cut, it was that, from thousands of miles away, I was able to live through what seemed to be a mad day’s rugby in the Six Nations with Ireland finally coming through as champions.
His sterling defence of Padraig Harringon
He was correctly beside himself with outrage when Sonia O'Sullivan removed Padraig Harrington from the 'Good Wall' in favour of Marcus O'Sullivan.
[audio mp3="https://media.balls.ie/uploads/2015/03/Shane-Lowry-on-Padraig-Harrington.mp3"][/audio]
He remembered the victims in Berkeley at the US Open
Credit to @ShaneLowryGolf (L). Wore black all week in memory of the Irish students killed at in Berkeley. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/mFFA2c0OwJ
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) June 22, 2015
Older folk remember his father excelling in a sport no one has ever heard of
@ballsdotie looks like the dad of @shanelowrygolf was part of a hybrid GAA-soccer game, according to USPGA profiles.. pic.twitter.com/yIHsadPWpb — Niall Breen (@omegaman3000) August 8, 2014
His thoughts on relocating to America
No. My life is in Ireland. I love Ireland too much. I will play a little bit more over there and travel over and back. It's easy to fly from Dublin to places in America. Getting over a bit of jet lag is easy and going for three-week stints. I don't think my life will ever be outside of Ireland.
