Shane was all of us when this dropped!
Viktor Hovland was in sensational form as
Europe built a healthy lead over America after the opening sessions of the
Ryder Cup. Shane Lowry went from point-winner to one of the Norwegian's biggest cheerleaders.
Lowry teamed up with Sepp Straka in the morning foursomes session to claim a crucial 2&1 win. "Look,"
the Clara native explained, "I came here with an open mind this week; I'll do whatever the captain asks me. He wanted me to go out this morning with Sepp.
"It's nice to go around with a rookie and bring him around the place. I think the last few days got the Rookies ready for what today was going to be like. It was amazing.
"It's my first home Ryder Cup, as well, and obviously last time at Whistling Straits wasn't the best experience and out there today was just incredible. With the crowd cheering you down every green and every fairway, it's incredible to have home support."
When he was finished with his match, Shane Lowry the fierce competitor became Shane Lowry, No.1 Team Europe fan. He was picked up in the background, on a few occasions, whooping up the Marco Simone crowd. Hovland's epic putt on the 18th green brought about an even funnier Lowry moment.
[caption id="attachment_293430" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Shane Lowry celebrates on Day One of The Ryder Cup, in Rome. (Credit: Getty)[/caption]
Shane Lowry picked up on TV broadcast
In a much tighter afternoon fourballs session, Team Europe led in all four matches at one stage before the Americans fired back. While Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy were romping their match - they would go on to win 5&3 - the USA took the lead in the first three matches out.
Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton were 2 Up after 13 holes but Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth pulled it back to
All Square by the 16th. It was set up for a tense finish, and Shane Lowry was following every stroke.
The match went to the 18th and it looked as though Justin Thomas would deliver a point for USA with a great chip set up a four-foot birdie putt. Hovland would need to sink a 25-footer to match what everyone expected Thomas to do. He did just that with an epic, clutch putt.
If that was not good enough [look at BOTH tweets below], Lowry was caught by TV cameras going absolutely berserk as the putt dropped in:
https://twitter.com/SkySportsGolf/status/1707785223188943143
https://twitter.com/RyderCupEurope/status/1707785696373538850
As if that was not good enough, Jon Rahm and then Justin Rose also dropped vital birdie putts on 18 to ensure Europe would win another session. They finished Friday 6-and-a-half points to the USA's 1-and-a-half points.
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