JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — Shane Lowry says celebrations after his victory at The Open that went viral on social media were among other moments from that night that “thankfully” weren’t captured on video.
But perhaps the fondest memory for Lowry is his visit to a Gaelic football and hurling stadium.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen it over here,” Lowry said Wednseday following his pro-am at the Northern Trust. “For me, the coolest thing I did was I went out to Croke Park on the Saturday evening after the tournament and got a standing ovation from 60,000 people. That was pretty cool.
“That’s the mecca in Ireland. That’s the stadium. That’s where you want to play. When I was a kid, that’s the only place you wanted to play. It was a pretty cool doing that.”
Lowry is finally ready to get back to work this week at the Northern Trust, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events and a series of events he was not eligible for last year because he had lost his PGA Tour card.
Now he’s the Open champion — the Claret Jug made the journey to the New York area — but Lowry is still having trouble processing it all.
“I’m not sure it’s fully sunk in yet to be honest,” said Lowry ,whose third-round 63 helped propel him to a six-shot victory. “It’s almost like you have to pinch yourself. I’m sure it’s something over the coming weeks or months or however long it takes it will sink in.
“I honestly feel very fortunate to have done something like that. I feel very lucky to have been able to live through something like that. It is a dream. … The win in Portrush was … I didn’t know where I would actually get a chance to live something like that. That’s like a dream come true almost.”
Lowry said he’s looking forward to getting back to golf after a whirlwind celebration period followed by a family vacation in Portugal. He enters the FedEx Cup 19th in the standings.
“I started this year with no card over here (on the PGA Tour) and I’ve got my card here now for the next five years,” he said. “No matter what happens with me the next few weeks, it’s all bonus. It’s all bonus territory for me. I’m just going to go out and give it my best shot and see where it leaves me.”