Shane Lowry reveals his most nervous first tee moment of career

The 2019 Open Champion, Shane Lowry, opened up about his most nervous first tee moment in over 15 years of his career, which happened in 2019. Lowry last competed at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut, where he finished in a seven-way tie for 45th. The Irishman will be making his 17th appearance of the season at the Open at Royal Portrush next week.

Shane Lowry has played 12 editions of the Open since he turned professional in 2009 and has made the cut in seven of them. Incidentally, the last time he played at Royal Portrush in 2019, Lowry emerged victorious after defeating Tommy Fleetwood by six strokes with a 15-under par final score.

Shane Lowry after his win at the 148th Open Championship in 2019 - Source: Getty

During the pre-tournament press conference at the 153rd Open Championship, Lowry spoke about experiencing peak nervousness during the first tee of the Major in 2019. When he was asked if he related to Rory McIlroy's feelings at the time, Lowry said:

"Yeah, I reckon that first tee that morning in 2019 was the most nervous I've ever been on the first tee of a tournament. All you want to do is get the ball down the fairway, and obviously Rory didn't do that."

While Lowry went on to win the Claret Jug, McIlroy failed to make the cut that year. Lowry added as to how his friend put pressure on himself:

"I remember talking to him a little bit in the lead-up to that, and he did put a lot of pressure on himself, talking about it being the biggest tournament he's ever going to play and stuff like that.

You live and you learn, and I'm sure he's not going to do that this week."

He also shared how McIlroy refrains from talking about his performance on the first hole at the 2019 Open, where he shot 4-over par on the par-4 Hole 1. Lowry went on to admit that the upcoming Major is a "big event" for everyone in the field, especially the Irish out there.

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Shane Lowry's past Open Championship performances explored

Out of his 12 appearances at the Major, Shane Lowry has advanced to the weekend rounds in seven of them. While he has one win to his credit, he has three top 10 finishes altogether. In his debut at the Open in 2010, Lowry finished at T37. He next appeared at the tournament two years later at Muirfield Golf Links in Scotland, where he finished at T32.

After a T9 finish in 2014, Shane Lowry missed the cut at four editions of the Major in a row. Following his win in 2019, he finished in a three-way tie for 12th at Royal St.George's in 2021.

Shane Lowry at the 152nd Open in 2024- Source: Getty

While in 2021 Lowry finished at T21, he failed to make the cut the next year. Last year at Royal Troon, he finished solo in sixth.