Players from outside the United States have won the last five events on the Tour, one shy of the record set in 2004 and equalled in 2008

Kinsale golfer Murphy, on just his third European Tour start, birdied the last to seal a tie for ninth, a career-best paycheque of €84,000, and a place at next week's Spanish Open

England's Danny Willett sitting on 14-under holds a three-stroke lead ahead of the chasing pack

“I didn’t think it was that bad until I asked my wife what it was like for her, and they got dog’s abuse going around as well,” said Lowry

Asked about American claims that this is a new dynasty, Lowry said: “Ah, f**k that. We’ve got top players. I said to Rory McIlroy before we went out this morning. ‘You’re Rory F**king McIlroy. Go and show it today.’ And he did.”

Shane Lowry couldn’t summon the silence – or his own roars – on Sunday at the Ryder Cup.

It wasn’t until getting that phonecall last week from captain Pádraig Harrington that Shane Lowry felt he’d finally reached the pinnacle of the game

Lowry, one of Harrington’s three captain’s picks, and McIlroy have remained firm friends, practice together regularly and are enthusiastic about playing together for Europe

Harrington said of Lowry: “He is a rookie but nobody thinks of him as a rookie. He’s a major champion, a World Golf Championship winner.”

Bernd Wiesberger’s tie for 20th saw him secure a debut at Whistling Straits at the end of the month, knocking Shane Lowry out of the side

The Offaly man shot a round of 66 to sit on eight-under at the halfway mark, four shots behind leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

As well as having a popular winner in Lowry, the 2019 Open attracted a crowd of 237,750 throughout the week – a record for an Open outside of St Andrews

Lowry’s grip on the final automatic Ryder Cup place is precarious, with at least a dozen players capable of shaking up the standings

Lowry's 62 was overshadowed by an immaculate round of 60 from Cameron Smith - who missed a 12-footer for a 59 at Liberty National.

It was 4.30am in the morning when Lowry opened his eyes and found out that the Offaly U20 footballers had seen off Cork to claim a spot in the All-Ireland final

The 2019 Open champion shot a superb 65 to sit on seven-under par for the tournament at the halfway point and within striking distance of the leaders at 10-under

Lowry’s two-year reign as Open champion came to an end at the postponed 149th Championship at Royal St George’s but he felt his six-under total was not representative of how well he had played

Five bogeys and only four birdies leaves the Offaly man requiring something special this afternoon to haul himself into weekend contention.

Shane Lowry signed for a middle-of-the-road one-over par 71, placing him seven behind afternoon leader Ooosthuizen.

Rory McIlroy, Pádraig Harrington, and Darren Clarke are the other Irish competitors this week

Scott Michaux, Paul Keane, John McHenry, James Sugrue, Simon Lewis, and Kevin Markham pick their shortlist of contenders and Open champion for 2021

Martin Dawson, the former R&A chief executive, had a stock ice-breaker at the start of each Open week when taking back the Claret Jug: “I’m only minding it for you until Sunday.

The Offaly man and 2019 winner at Royal Portrush arrived at Royal St George's this morning

Shane Lowry will defend the title he won in 2019 when the 149th Open Championship belatedly takes place at Royal St George’s from July 15-18. Here, are five of the main talking points ahead of the year’s final major.

Said the Open champion: 'I feel like I have that round in me. It was an easy 6-under today'

Shane Lowry had missed the crowds when Covid-19 sent the PGA and European Tours behind closed gates last year.

Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell made the cut on the mark of three under thanks to a 67

Lowry described the emotion of receiving his Team Ireland uniform last week after confirmation of his qualification for the Olympics

Irish golf professionals were joined by sporting stars and celebrities for the Irish Open Pro-Am at Mount Juliet on Wednesday

The 34-year-old is now bracing himself for the moment when he hands it back to the R&A and begins his bid to follow close friend Pádraig Harrington in winning back-to-back Open titles

McIlroy and Fleetwood are the top-two ranked players in the field at Mount Juliet this week, while Catlin won the event at Galgorm Castle last year

Open champion and Offaly GAA partner Shane Lowry looked on from the main stand though even he would accept that the nine-point win flattered the Faithful

Nine of the top-40 eligible players have chosen not to contest the Tokyo Games

“This week just wasn’t my week.”

After tapping in for bogey and a 1-over 72, Lowry flung his ball in the water in disgust and stomped away

The Offaly man had four birdies in the round, on the 5th and 6th holes on his front nine, and the 12th and 13th on the back nine

Lowry climbed 20 places on the European Points List to 14th and into the top 10 on the World Points list for the Ryder Cup, leaving him on the bubble for one of the nine automatic selections for Team Europe

The championship organisers were delighted with the success of The Open when it returned to the island of Ireland at Portrush on the Antrim coast in 2019

“I’m hoping there is going to be even a couple of thousand people a day, although that would probably give me a big headache as I would probably need 1,999 of those tickets!”

The Irish pairing of Harrington and Lowry carded matching rounds of 69 to charge up the leaderboard and claim a share of fourth place

"It was one of the best days I've had on the golf course."

Shane Lowry is confident he's well in contention too, although his putter let him down "big time" on day one of the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island

Rory McIlroy will begin at the 10th just after 1.30pm Irish time alongside fellow two-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka and the champions from four years ago, Justin Thomas

The Open champion was familiarising himself with the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for the first time on Monday