The unique mindset Shane Lowry is carrying into British Open to rekindle past magic

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Shane Lowry believes he’s figured out a formula to excel in the biggest tournaments, like this week’s British Open at Royal Portrush, where he won the Claret Jug in 2019. 

“Sometimes, honestly, when everything is going really well, I get complacent,’’ the 38-year-old Irishman said Monday. “Then all of a sudden before I know it, I’m like 3-over through five [holes] and you start to have a panic because you feel like you’re going to do well. 

“I feel like when things are not going well is when I’m at my best,’’ he went on. “Like, go back to 2019 here: I had a meltdown on the Wednesday because I thought I wasn’t going to go out and play well. Then that focuses me in a little bit more. If I can keep my complacency away and my expectation down, that’s when I’m at my best.’’ 

The natural follow-up question was how he’s feeling entering this Open Championship. 

“I’m feeling great the last two days, so that’s not great,’’ he said with a laugh. “I’ve had a great week of practice. I just need to play s–t for the next couple of days, and I’ll be all right.’’ 

Lowry hasn’t won this year, though he’s come close, finishing runner-up twice and posting four top-10s in his 16 events. So, he’s been playing pretty well. He has, however, missed the cut in the past two major championships, the PGA and the U.S. Open. 

“The last two majors I missed cuts, which I kind of pride myself on not missing cuts, especially in the big events,’’ he said. “I’ve been consistently quite good this year. I’ve given myself a couple of chances to win, which I’m very disappointed that I didn’t, but we’ve got a few months left to kind of redeem myself and get a win on the board.’’ 

This week, Lowry is doing what he can to rekindle the magic he found in 2019. 

“Doing something like that is a lifelong dream,’’ Lowry said. 

Asked why he believes “it all came together for him’’ in that Open, Lowry said with a smile: “I’ve spent the last six years trying to figure that out.’’ 

“I think at the time I didn’t understand why [I won], but I think if you look back, my results had been really good going into the tournament,’’ he said. “If you look at the majors that year, I missed the cut at the Masters, but I think I shot 5-over the first round of the PGA and finished eighth. I think I shot 77 the first round of the U.S. Open, and I had a great second round to make the cut and finished like 20th or something. 

“Then I finished second to Rory [McIlroy] in Canada, and I’d been playing pretty solid, like really good golf the whole year. Then I came to a place (Portrush) that I knew and I loved, and it just all clicked. I was playing some of the best golf of my life. 

“I remember that week I was quite antsy and quite uptight about the whole thing, but that’s just because you want to perform so well. I still don’t know why. You never really know why. There’s no real answer. It just happened. I’m very lucky. Here in 2019 was something special that no one will ever be able to take away from me.’’ 

What may Lowry have in store for an encore this week for the home fans after winning by six shots in 2019? 

“I am a better golfer than I was in 2019,’’ he said. “But it doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and win by seven this year instead of six. It is amazing to be back. Obviously, there’s a lot of memories and there’s a lot of thinking back to what I did. 

“What I did was very special, and to walk down the 18th hole with a six-shot lead … I’m probably never going to do that again, so I’m not going to try and replicate that this week. 

“I’ve prepared as well as I can for this tournament. Then it’s just up to me to stay out of my own way on Thursday morning and go and get after it and see what happens.’’