Shane Lowry said the coolest thing which has happened to him since winning The Open last month was getting to stand on the Croke Park pitch with the Claret Jug ahead of the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Kilkenny and Limerick.
"I don't know if you've seen it over here," said Lowry at a press conference ahead of the Northern Trust tournament in New York
For me, like the coolest thing did I was I went out to Croke Park on the Saturday evening after the tournament and got a standing ovation from 60,000 people. That was pretty cool.
That's the mecca in Ireland. That's the stadium. That's where you want to play. When I was a kid, that's the only place you wanted to play. It was pretty cool doing that.
Eight days elapsed between winning his first Major and the Offaly man hiting a golf ball again. That was on a family holiday in Portugal.
"It was a pretty decent one," said Lowry of his first shot, "but if I'm honest, I didn't play great that day.
"I was out playing with some friends. Look, I was just playing some holiday golf in a golf cart and shorts, and it was cool and it was nice to get back playing. It was nice to see where my game was at and by the end of the week, I was playing okay."
On the night of his win, Lowry was videoed singing The Fields of Athenry in a Dublin bar. He's glad no other videos from that night have emerged.
Increased recognition among fans in the US - and not being mistaken for other bearded golfers - has been another benefit of his win.
"It was just on," said Lowry regarding that moment.
"It just happened - there was plenty more moments from that night that wasn't captured on video thankfully.
"That was one that was - and it obviously went out there.
"Yeah, look, it's changed my life a little bit. I'm definitely more recognized now, and even coming over here to events, but if anything when you are like that, it makes you feel more comfortable. That's the way I feel, anyway.
"They are not calling me "Beef" or they are not calling me "J.B. Holmes" out there, anyway. That's a plus."
Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
