After the horror of Bordeaux and the agony of Cape Town, Irish sport turned to Shane Lowry on Sunday.
It started well. The final four holes of his third round were delayed until early on Sunday morning, he bolstered his two-shot lead with a further two birdies. He would begin the final round of the US Open with a four-shot lead over Andrew Landry, a player ranked 624th in the world.
Another major beckoned for Irish golf, and a place in the history books for Shane Lowry.
In an interview with Sky Sports before he teed off, Lowry admitted to being restless and nervous throughout the day as he awaited the biggest round of his career thus far. The nerves were natural, to be expected, he said.
They were also evident over the 18 holes as he carded a six-over 76. The nadir came on the back nine, shooting three consecutive bogeys on 14, 15 and 16 when still within touching distance of eventual winner Dustin Johnson.
Interviewed after the round, Lowry's dejection with his performance was unmistakeable.
I really feel like I let it go today. Very disappointed at the minute. The more I think about it, the more upset I get. It's one of those that's going to be hard to take. It's going to be a tough few days.
I led by four shots in this tournament going into the final round. I was tied for the lead with five holes to play. I'm definitely good enough to win one of these. I'll get back on the horse in a couple of weeks. Back to Firestone and looking forward to defending there.
After a disappointment like that, many would not want to see a tee-box for weeks. That's not an option for Shane Lowry. He faces a corporate day in Dublin tomorrow. Though he smiled at the thought, it was one of dread.
I wish I could, I've got a corporate day in Dublin tomorrow. So I'm playing golf again tomorrow, that's going to be great fun - people talking to me about how I let the lead slip.
After that, I'm going to take a couple of days to assess what happened. If you had given me second at the start of the week, I'd probably have taken it. Obviously, I'm standing here now in that position and I'm not happy.
There's lots of positives to take from this. This is a true test of golf and I was right up there for 67 holes. That's golf, you win some, you lose some. I'll definitely be back.
You can watch the interview with Shane Lowry below.
