A mural of Shane Lowry holding aloft the claret jug adorns the side wall of a house just across the road from Royal Portrush.

He won his lone Major at the British Open at Royal Portrush – site of this week’s championship – in 2019. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Golf’s oldest major returns to Royal Portrush this week with the world’s best players gathered in Northern Ireland for the 153rd Open Championship.

Shane Lowry didn’t know what to make of the mural at first. He doesn’t look at himself as someone worthy of being celebrated as a national hero.

Golf's oldest championship returns to Royal Portrush. It's the third time the British Open has gone to the Northern Ireland links. Shane Lowry won in 2019.

SportsLine golf expert Brady Kannon just locked in his PGA Tour best bets for the 2025 British Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club

If we have any quarrel with the mural, it's that Lowry stands alone. Portrush proper is home to barely 6,000 souls, yet the R&A expects over a quarter-million pilgrims this week. The mathematics should spell chaos, but when an entire community vibrates at the same frequency—when everyone wants to be here—logistics become footnotes. It just works.

Lowry feels “rejuvenated” and as prepared as he could be in his bid to become the first player to win consecutive British Opens at the same course since Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2000 and ’05.

The final major of 2025 begins on Thursday with the 2025 Open Championship, and after J.J. Spaun won the most recent major with odds longer than 100-1 at the U.S. Open, longshot bets could be a trendy way to attack the 2025 Open Championship on betting sites.

Missing the cut at the past two majors hasn't dimmed Shane Lowry's confidence as the Irishman returns to the scene of his greatest triumph this week.

BBC Sport NI's Stephen Watson speaks to 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry ahead of the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.