By Oisin Doherty

Copyright irishmirror

Graeme McDowell has echoed the entirety of Ireland by paying tribute to Shane Lowry after his epic performance helped Europe to win the Ryder Cup. Lowry secured a half point against Russell Henley to guarantee a draw and ensure that Europe would retain the trophy after an almighty fightback from the USA. With Luke Donald’s team faltering, Lowry held his nerve, held his Birdie putt on 18 and set the stage for Tyrrell Hatton and Bob MacIntyre to secure half points and give Europe the 15-13 win. Taking to social media after Lowry’s epic putt, McDowell, who had already praised Lowry throughout the day, simply posted “And I say again……….Shane-oooo.” Speaking to Sky Sports after his draw with Henley, an overwhelmed Lowry struggled to put into words the magnitude of his achievement. “I’ve been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game. That was the hardest couple hours of my life, honestly,” said Lowry. “I can’t believe that ball went in. I stood over it and went ‘this is it’.” Lowry has had some amazing moments in golf, none more so than when he won the Open in Royal Portrush in 2019, but the Irishman has a special connection with the Ryder Cup, and it’s clear that today’s win meant more to him than anything. “I said to Darren walking down 18, ‘I have the chance to do the coolest thing in my life here.’ “The Ryder Cup means everything to me. I won the Open in Ireland but the Ryder Cup is everything. “To do that on the 18th in front of everyone. It was so hard. Fair play to the US lads. We knew they would come out fighting. “I just hope one of the boys can get a half point so we can get the win.”