Shane Lowry jokes ‘I pulled last night’ after waking up with Claret Jug as wife Wendy shows V sign for victory before boozy Open celebrations
SHANE LOWRY cheekily revealed "I pulled last night" after waking up next to the Claret Jug.
But he will not have had much sleep after drinking the bar dry in the Players’ Lounge at Portrush, before heading to Dublin and boozing until dawn!
The 32-year-old clinched the biggest win of the his pro career - and a £1.5m prize - by an incredible six shots, after carding a superb 63 on his penultimate round, before hitting 72 on Sunday.
And after waking up with a sore head, the new Open champ replaced his wife Wendy in bed with the 147-year-old trophy.
Lowry said: “We went to bed quite late and I had it on the bedside locker beside me. Wendy got up early this morning with Iris (their two-year-old daughter) and I put the jug in beside me. It’s outrageous. It is a dream come true.
“Iris was in the house and she was trying to lift the trophy and she couldn’t because it was so heavy. We have her saying ‘Daddy win’ now so it’s amazing. It’s something we will look back on forever.”
He added: "An American journalist asked me on Sunday just how big will the party be tonight?’ I felt I had to put him right, so I replied: ‘You mean, how big will the party be all week?’.
The down-to-earth couple married in New York in 2016 after meeting on a "random night out" four years earlier, while Wendy was working as a nurse.
Shane and Wendy snubbed a wedding with all the trimmings back home in Ireland — partly because the long guest list was starting to put unnecessary stress on Shane.
Instead, they went to the Big Apple and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony, two years after he got down on one knee and proposed on a Dubai beach.
Wendy shared pictures of appreciation on her Instagram stories as they rolled in from around the golfing world.
SO HAPPY FOR YOU, SHANE
One of them was from Ireland rugby star Peter O'Mahony, who posted a snap of himself on the sofa with a beverage as the golf concluded.
One Direction star Niall Horan tweeted: "Huge congratulations to @ShaneLowryGolf. You're a great man, an incredible golfer and that was one hell of a performance.
"Watching an Irishman winning @TheOpen is an incredible thing. So happy for you Shane."
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His fairytale victory overcame odds of 70-1 for a man who has been teased about his weight in the past and was branded "borderline lazy."
An emotional Lowry said: "My mum and dad sacrificed so much for me when I was younger and I'm so happy I can hand them this trophy tonight.
"My wife and my little girl Iris, to have them here today is extra special.
"All the fans, thank you so much, this one's for you."
His grandmother Emily Scanlon also made a striking confession about her nerves before the final round.
She said: "Terrible. Emotional now, it was. I hadn't slept last night.
"I hadn't drank a brandy since 2009 and I drank two yesterday — it's nearly killing me."
