Luke Walker/Getty Images
By Alex Myers
There wasn’t much drama on Sunday at Royal Portrush, but there was still plenty to talk about following the conclusion of the 148th Open Championship. And to get you caught up quickly, here’s the story of the final round in 9 (or so) sentences.
1.) Shane Lowry won his first major . . . and it wasn’t even close.
Guinness will flow from the claret jug after Lowry’s six-shot romp at Royal Portrush.
2.) Brooks Koepka finishes T-4 and is officially in a major championship slump.
Kidding! Although, the result stops his streak of finishing in the top two in four consecutive majors and might be enough to keep him from wearing Sunday yellow again. His consolation prize is that he joins Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, and Jordan Spieth as the only players to finish in the top five of all four majors in a single year.
3.) Rickie Fowler continued doing Rickie Fowler things.
And by that, we mean play really well in a major (T-6) while never having a serious chance of winning.
4.) Tony Finau is kinda the new Rickie Fowler.
A year younger than Rickie, Tony picked up his fifth top 10 in the past eight majors. His solo third is his best effort to date.
5.) J.B. Holmes had a brutal day out there.
The Kentuckian shot 87(!) to fall from solo third to a tie for 67th. Ouch.
6.) Brooks Koepka had a brutal time watching brutally slow J.B. Holmes have a brutal day out there.
Walking off 12 green, Koepka stares at an official and points to his non-existent watch.
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) July 21, 2019
And how about this reaction to Holmes plumb-bobbing a tap-in:
classic. pic.twitter.com/vUwSZwr3CT
— Matthew Wiley (@wiley77) July 21, 2019
If J.B. gets on the U.S. Presidents Cup team, we’d advise captain Tiger Woods to refrain from pairing them up.
7.) Tommy Fleetwood never made a run.
The Englishman had the best chance of catching Lowry, but shot 74 for his second runner-up finish at a major.
8.) Henrik Stenson is still murdering clubs.
Oh no, oh no. Sh*nk #TheOpen
A shank from Henrik Stenson and a broken iron over the leg. pic.twitter.com/qEQd7PXYmw
— By The Flagstick (@ByTheFlagstick) July 21, 2019
A rough day for the Swede was highlighted by that well-executed shank and club snap. That’s why you don’t skip leg day, folks.
9.) Shane Lowry is your CHAMPION GOLFER OF THE YEAR.
And what a scene it was:
The moment that sealed it for Shane Lowry, a dream turned into reality for the Irishman ?? #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/QbsgNbGtW6
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2019
Congrats to Shane. There’s going to be one heckuva party in Northern Ireland on Sunday night.