With the narrative in the aftermath of yesterday's US Open final round being dominated by the late collapse from Rory McIlroy, an impressive display from Shane Lowry at Pinehurst has gone somewhat under the radar.
The Offaly man would finish in a tie for 19th place in the year's third major, carding a final round score of 69 to secure his place inside the top 20. That finish is especially impressive when you consider that he shot +4 in his first round, shooting even par from that point in a tournament where low scoring was hard to come by.
It bodes well for Lowry's prospects over the coming weeks, with The Open at Royal Troon now just one month away.
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Shane Lowry bounces back from 'Lowest Point' in career at US Open
A top 20 finish in a major is always an impressive feat, but it was even more so when you consider how Shane Lowry got on during his most recent outing in the PGA Tour.
The Irishman would card a score of 85 during the final round of the Memorial Tournament the previous week. Add to that his struggles during the opening round at the US Open and you can see why Lowry would be so pleased to bounce back in the manner he did over the days that followed.
Speaking after the final round, he admitted that Sunday's round at the Memorial Tournament was the 'lowest point' of his career.
Considering my opening nine holes of the tournament, I think the next 60 or whatever holes were pretty good.
It’s looking like top 20, nice FedEx Cup points there which is pretty good. So I am happy...
To shoot 85, I mean to come out and play the golf I played this week I thought was pretty good and showed who I am and what I am about.
Obviously, I would prefer to have been contending there, but if you look at the numbers, I’m not too far away, not a million miles away from the winning score or a top-5 this week score-wise...
I go out there and try my best day in, and day out; this week, it is going to be somewhere around the 20th; last week wasn’t very good, and hopefully, next week will be better.
I was very low on Sunday. It was probably the lowest point of my career. When I got here on Sunday night, I mean straightaway after finishing, I got here. Luckily, my dad was here, Neil was here, and Brian was here already.
I spent a lot of Monday hitting balls which is rare for me to hit that many balls and try and get ready for the tournament.
But once Wednesday came, I felt like I was just back into just trying to play golf and trying to hit my shots. To be honest, I played those last six holes unbelievably well today.
It's fantastic to hear that Shane Lowry is now in a confident mood so soon after that collapse at the Memorial Tournament.
It is likely that the same cannot be said of Rory McIlroy, who came agonisingly close to ending his decade-long major drought last night. He put together a fantastic closing round, only to miss two putts from within four feet during the final three holes. He would go on to finish one shot behind the winner Bryson DeChambeau.
Irish Independent journalist Paul Kimmage revealed last night that Shane Lowry had already been in contact with him after McIlroy's final round, saying: 'Brutal f'n sport we play. Have never been so heartbroken for another sportsperson'.
That summed up the situation pretty well.
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