Alan Lowry does not believe that being Shane Lowry’s brother is a burden no more then he’s fed up being the son of an Offaly All-Ireland title winning legend.
On Monday though it was his turn to enjoy a small taste of the limelight when he produced as gutsy, clutch-putting display down the stretch and defied howling winds gusting up to 35 mph to claim a deserved two-stroke victory in the Mullingar Electrical Scratch Trophy.
“When I first came out this morning, I thought I needed to post some decent number to be there or thereabouts,” said Lowry, who started the day five strokes behind halfway leader Joe Lyons on two under par.
‘Kept grinding’
“But it was so windy I thought under par for the tournament wouldn’t be far away and so I kept grinding, telling myself I wasn’t too far away.
“It was so tough out there that when shots start going, it is so hard to get them back. So I kept plugging along and thankfully I came out a couple of shots ahead.”
Brother Shane won with a 17 under par total in 2008 but Alan, who credited last month’s interprovincial debut for Leinster with giving him the belief that he could perform under pressure, had to produce hard-nosed, ugly golf to get his first major win on two-under 286.
And he insisted that having the world number 48 as your brother is a help and an inspiration rather than a burden
“I didn’t think it’s difficult,” he said. “It is great to look up to him. We actually played on Friday and he gave me a little tip about swinging a bit slower and I came up here and I was hitting it a bit easier and obviously I won.
“It’s unbelievable to see him there and I get confidence from seeing him doing what he is doing. To get my first win here is fantastic. It still hasn’t sunk in.”
It was nerveless short-range putting over the last seven holes that gave the 22-year-old Esker Hills and Maynooth University talent his first major victory.
He shot a fine 70 to grab a share of the lead with Castle’s Daniel Holland, who would fade to 14th after a closing 82.
And it was not until he hit a 165 yard nine iron down breeze to 20 feet at the 18th that he knew for sure that victory was within his grasp, it was his putting from the 12th to the 16th that made the difference.
“I didn’t want to know where I stood,” Lowry confessed after an afternoon with the blinkers on and his head down. “After I hit my third, I heard someone say: ‘That’s the winning shot there.’ I knew if I could two putt from 20 feet it was probably good enough.”
After holing from six feet to avoid a three-putt bogey at the 12th, he made downhill five footers for par at the 13th and 14th, and a four footer at the 15th before ramming home a 15 footer for birdie at the par-five 16th to get to two under.
Gutsy par
As Lowry made a gutsy par at the 17th driver, three iron and two putts from 20 feet – Fairweather bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th to go the last needing an albatross for a play-off.
He could only make birdie, adding a 75 to his 74 to finish second on level-par 288, one better than Co Sligo’s Sean Flanagan with Dundalk pair Aaron Grant and Caolan Rafferty four shots behind the winner alongside Lyons in a share of fourth.
“To be honest, for the whole round today I kept grinding and holing putts for par, taking it shot by shot, not getting ahead of myself,” Lowry said. “I am so happy to come out on top, it means a lot.”
