Shane Lowry claims second Irish Open with record 11-stroke victory at Doonbeg

Dominant final round in Doonbeg

Shane Lowry secured his second Irish Open title on Sunday at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare, finishing at 23 under par with a closing round of 63. The 39-year-old golfer from Clara, County Offaly, entered the final round holding a four-shot lead over Denmark's Jacob Skov Olesen. Lowry opened his round by sinking an 18-foot birdie putt on the first hole, followed by three additional birdies on the fifth, seventh, and eighth holes. Despite a lone bogey on the par-three ninth hole, he held a seven-shot advantage at the turnaround. On the back nine, Lowry recorded four more birdies, including back-to-back conversions on the 14th and 15th holes, the latter from 44 feet, before concluding with a 29-foot birdie putt on the 18th green.

Record margins and leaderboard

Lowry finished the tournament with a 72-hole aggregate of 257 strokes, claiming an 11-shot victory over joint runners-up Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann, who both finished at 12 under par. This 11-stroke margin surpassed the tournament record previously set by Bernhard Langer, who won by 10 shots at Portmarnock in 1987. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark placed fourth at 11 under par after matching Lowry's closing 63, while Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin and Italy's Gregorio De Leo finished tied for fifth at 10 under par. Olesen carded a final-round 73 to slip into a tie for seventh place at nine under par alongside Alex Fitzpatrick. Rory McIlroy concluded his week at one under par following a final-round 67.

Dignitaries and course surroundings

The tournament took place under heightened security due to the presence of US President Donald Trump, who owns the Doonbeg resort and arrived at the first tee in a bulletproof golf buggy nicknamed Clare Force One. Trump's son Eric Trump arrived at the tee box at 1:47 p.m. alongside Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary Martin. Following the opening drives of the final pairing, Donald Trump conducted an impromptu press briefing near the fairway, addressing topics including Irish unity, artificial intelligence, the Russia-Ukraine war, and US Federal Reserve interest rates. Eric Trump and security personnel followed portions of the round across the dunes as spectators lined the fairways. Donald Trump later attended the 18th green to present the trophy to the champion.

Career milestone and reactions

The victory marked Lowry's first individual tournament title since winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September 2022, and his eighth career title overall. His prior victory came in April 2024 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event alongside Rory McIlroy. The victory arrived 17 years after Lowry won his first Irish Open as an amateur at Baltray in 2009, when he defeated Robert Rock in a playoff. Lowry had previously surrendered leads late in tournaments earlier in 2026 at the Dubai Invitational and the Cognizant Classic.

Something like this feels as big as it gets for me. The nerves in my stomach this morning.

Lowry noted that his mindset entering Sunday resembled the eve of his 2019 Open Championship win at Royal Portrush, where keeping composure was essential to convert a multi-shot lead into victory.