Shane Lowry says Olympic gold would heal his Open hurt

Shane Lowry believes winning Olympic gold will make up for missing out on a second Open title, as Ireland teammate Rory McIlroy targets his biggest win for a decade.

Lowry held a two-shot halfway lead at Royal Troon, where McIlroy missed the cut, but struggled to a third round of 77 and eventually finished sixth, five shots behind Olympic champion Xander Schauffele.

“I felt I had a good chance to win The Open a couple of weeks ago and I was really disappointed to not give it a better go on Saturday and Sunday,” said Lowry, who described being one of Ireland’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony as an “amazing experience”.

Rory and Shane enjoying Le Golf National ☘️#Paris2024 | #OlympicGolf pic.twitter.com/WdmdIxoDZW

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) July 30, 2024

“Straightaway after that I sort of felt like I have a chance to redeem myself here in a couple of weeks.

“If you look at the media and what it was like back home yesterday when Mona (McSharry) won that bronze medal (in the 100m breaststroke), I think if I was to win a gold medal and bring it back to Ireland, yeah, it would be pretty cool.”

McIlroy’s bid to win a fifth major title will stretch into another decade after he suffered his second worst Open performance at Troon, the 35-year-old carding rounds of 78 and 75 to finish 11 over par, five weeks after his heartbreaking loss in the US Open.

Asked what a gold medal would do for his year, McIlroy said: “It’s well documented that I haven’t won one of the big four in 10 years. It would probably be one of, if not the biggest [win] in my career for the last 10 years.

“The last time you guys (the media) saw me, I didn’t give a very good account of myself at Troon. I want to make sure I’m right where I need to be