Shane Lowry wins British Open by 6 strokes for first major title

Ireland's Shane Lowry wins British Open in tournament's return to Northern Ireland

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland - As a happy story played out in sad-story weather on Sunday at Royal Portrush, the time-honored idea that heartbreak can wind up boosting strength got a rowdy and touching reiteration. An affable 32-year-old Irishman went squarely to the juncture of his bygone bummer - four shots ahead with one round to play, just like in 2016 - and learned he had mastered this rare and eccentric art, his nerves clearly toughened from before.

Shane Lowry, the world's No. 33 player who painted himself as "bitterly disappointed" when he squandered his four-shot lead at the 2016 U.S. Open, found his way to an exhilaration that might even make that prior dud worthwhile. (Might.) He never even strayed into peril or even very many weeds as he won the 148th Open Championship by six handy shots over Tommy Fleetwood, Lowry's promising 28-year-old playing partner. It made Lowry Ireland's first major winner since Padraig Harrington finished hoarding his third at the 2008 PGA Championship, and it wrung from Lowry a happiness only a wretch could begrudge.

So the first Open at Royal Portrush in 68 years, a matter of a meaning unusual in its depth, wound up with booming cheers as a man from Clara in County Offlay four driving hours south got the privilege of walking No. 18 without a shred of stress. He stood at 15 under par with none of the world's other best golfers in double digits. His lead had never dwindled beneath three all afternoon. His wife, Wendy, appeared to fight back tears. His father, Brendan, a renowned Gaelic footballer back in his day, accepted hugs.

Galleries, who had appeared beneath umbrellas in droves along ropes and on hills all through the 7,344 yards, clearly shared the mirth. "Come on, Shane!" went the first-name refrain even from those who don't know him personally. A big sound followed when he knocked in his closing par.

He began at 1:48 p.m. local time amid mere droplets. Meteorologists had promised on Saturday night that the North Atlantic Ocean had been out there rousing up one of its typical Open brews, and the Royal & Ancient that oversees the old tournament moved the tee times up two hours in anticipation. That, of course, would not daunt one trained in Ireland, and along Lowry's scarcely troubled way, the rain varied from piddling to insistent to end-of-time to gone. On No. 8 in particular, it combined with gusts for the outright atmospheric rudeness long deemed almost essential to Open golf.

Yet things never got hairy on a day when Tony Finau finished third at 7 under par and fourth place went shared by 46-year-old Lee Westwood and No. 1 Brooks Koepka, who became only the fifth player ever to finish top-five in all four majors in a calendar year. Lowry had won his first major title three summers after losing his first, after he finished tied for second to Dustin Johnson at Oakmont near Pittsburgh and described his feelings intricately. He said, "It's one of those things that's going to be hard to take." He said it had "kind of spiraled out of control" with bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 16. And he said, "And, you know, it's not easy to get yourself in a position I got myself in today."

When he got himself back in that position after 12 ensuing majors in which he suffered seven cuts, he knew just what to do.

As if the tension attending the final round of a major golf tournament weren't enough, Royal Portrush on the coast of Northern Ireland offered its own challenge, with stiff winds buffeting golfers on the final day of the British Open.

Not that Shane Lowry was intimidated by any of it.

The Irish golfer who is the fans' darling held off Tommy Fleetwood, his playing partner, through rain and mist, winning his first Claret Jug with a steady performance before raucous fans delighted to celebrate an Irishman's win.

His six-stroke, nerves-of-steel is tied for the largest margin since World War II and is the first win in a major for the 32-year-old.