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There was no shortage of heroes for Team Europe at Bethpage Black last weekend. Tommy Fleetwood, who won four points enroute to the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award. Rory McIlroy, who blocked out all the noise and played like the superstar that he is. Luke Donald, a bonafide Ryder Cup legend who is 4-0 all-time as a player and 2-0 as a captain. Then there’s Shane Lowry.
The Irishman’s performance was merely fine through much of the first two days. But on Sunday, he gutted out an incredible singles performance against Russell Henley in a match that came down to the 18th hole. With the U.S. team charging and the crowd raging, Lowry stood over a six-footer for a birdie to halve the match and give Team Europe the crucial half-point they needed to retain the Ryder Cup. With the weight of a continent on his shoulders, he buried it.
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But according to Lowry’s dad, Brendan, it wasn’t quite so simple.
“He said to me ‘Da, I was sure I missed it!’” the Lowry patriarch told The Ray D’Arcy Show on Ireland’s RTE Radio 1. “He was certain it was going to lip out. The pressure was immense. Things weren’t looking too good for Europe.”
To the naked eye, Lowry seemed to confidently pour in his putt. Anyone with a pulse could feel the pressure, but the only indication the World No. 24 gave was in clear outpouring of joy and relief that followed. But if we’re to believe his old man—a former All-Ireland Gaelic football champion who knows a thing or two about pressure—Lowry was feeling anything but confident as he struck his putt.
It just goes to show that no matter how good you get—no matter the size of the lead or the stakes—golf is a game that will make you doubt yourself. So next time you’re standing over a big putt to break 80 or clinch your member-guest, take a page out of Lowry’s book and look your fears dead in the eye, give ’em a wink and bury it.
Main Image: Mateo Villalba
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