Shane Lowry seals record-breaking second Irish Open title amid emotional scenes at sold-out Trump Doonbeg

SHANE LOWRY teed off in the final round of the Amgen Irish Open with a four-shot lead as he chased a first professional win on home soil.

The Offaly ace began Sunday on 16-under par at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, four clear of Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, with Joaquin Niemann seven shots adrift.

Lowry, playing in the final group alongside Dane Olesen, was looking to add to the famous Irish Open title he won as an amateur at Baltray in 2009 – and end a four-year wait for an individual victory.

And the 39-year-old ended that drought in stunning fashion as he strolled to victory on the stunning West Clare links track.

The Clara ace started where in left off on Saturday as he put his foot on the gas right from the start in front of the huge sold out galleries.

After booming his drive 349 yards down the first, he rolled home a 16-foot birdie putt to make the perfect start and stretch his advantage to five.

Lowry safely negotiated the next three holes before making another move at the fifth, picking up his second birdie of the afternoon to move to 18-under.

And his lead continued to grow as those behind him struggled to apply any serious pressure on a benign day in Doonbeg.

The putting masterclass continued with another birdie arrived at the seventh, taking Lowry to three-under for his round and a remarkable 19-under for the tournament.

That opened up an EIGHT-shot cushion at the top as the 2009 champion threatened to turn the final round into a practice session.

Lowry then safely negotiated the eighth and ninth to reach the turn in 33, three-under for his round and still firmly in command at the summit.

And the Irishman accelerated further as he pushed on with further birdies at 10 and 14 and 15 as he stretched the lead to TEN.

With the huge galleries continuing to follow his every move around Doonbeg, the 39-year-old kept the chasing pack at arm’s length through the middle section of the back nine.

By the time Lowry reached the final three holes, his second Irish Open title was effectively in the bag.

The Offaly star soaked up the closing moments with a smile before rolling in a 29-foot putt on the 18th to finish in style on a sensational 23-under total.

The victory breaks the record winning margin of ten strokes, set by Berhard Langer in 1987 after the superb seven-under-par 63 on Sunday.

His 11-stroke victory will firmly banished the ghosts of his late collapses at the Dubai Invitational and Cognizant Classic earlier this season.

It would complete a remarkable week for Lowry, who opened with a 67 before smashing the Doonbeg course record with a 62 on Friday and following that with Saturday’s brilliant 65.

And 17 years after winning the tournament as an amateur in County Louth, the home hero once again got his hands on the prestigious trophy.

The triump in County Clare was his 7th DP World Tour title.

Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann were tied for second way back on -12.

Irish Open final leaderboard

-23 S Lowry (Ire); -12 P Reed (US), J Niemann (Chi); -11 R Neergaard-Petersen (Den); -10 T McKibbin (NI), G De Leo (Ita)

Selected others: -9 A Fitzpatrick (Eng), J Skov Olesen (Den); -8 E Ferguson (Sco); -7 P Waring (Eng); -6 S Garcia (Spa), M Wallace (Eng), R MacIntyre (Sco); -4 J Rahm (Spa), D Law (Sco), R Fisher (Eng); -3 L Nolan (Ire), R Hojgaard (Den), N Noergaard (Den); -1 R McIlroy (NI), +2 B Koepka (US).