Ahead of every big tournament over the past twelve months or so, there wasn't an Irish golf fan alive who didn't at some stage utter the words 'I reckon Lowry has an outside chance here, definitely worth a fiver each way'.
We all knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later but it seems, despite his consistent displays on both sides of the pond, that the New York Times golf writers haven't quite been as quick to champion Lowry as we have. The Times' report on the final round of the Bridgestone set the tone that, it must be said the majority of fans expected.
Lowry would have a decent final day but the likes of Justin Rose and Jim Furyk would inevitably find their way to the top of the leaderboard.
The final round of the Bridgestone Invitational was supposed to unfold as a spirited duel between Jim Furyk and Justin Rose.
However, as we all know by now, it didn't quite work out like that. Painting a word picture of Shakespearean proportions (slightly hyperbolic), the Times' report introduces the wider golfing world to a heroic figure stepping through the mist of chaos to take what is rightfully his (hugely hyperbolic).
Emerging from the chaos was Shane Lowry, a relatively unheralded Irishman, who turned in an unexpectedly sharp display to surge past Furyk and Rose and fend off a charging Bubba Watson to win the title.
Despite the fact that he was a top fifty golfer, the Times report delights in the underdog story of this burly Irishman with hands as soft as butter blowing the field away some astonishingly good recovery shots.
It was Lowry, a bearded and bulky man ranked No. 48, who stirred the crowd instead, with his soft hands, even demeanor and steady play.
If the Times couldn't quite get their head around the Clara man, then perhaps that tone was kicked off by Bubba Watson who, after the end of his round, instructed someone to 'tell Lowry that shot was unbelievable'. Bubba was, of course, talking about Lowry's almost unbelievable birdie at 18.
While Lowry's maiden PGA Tour win may have come as a bit of a surprise to the golfing fraternity in the States, we'd suggest that the confidence that will come from this win could well ensure he'll be recognised as more than just a 'a bearded and bulky man' in the near future.
