Lowry, who won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, holed from 35 feet for another birdie on the 10th to move two shots clear of the field.

Leave it to Maureen Madill to put into perspective how big a deal hosting the 148th Open Championship is to the membership at Royal Portrush and all of her native land.

Mission accomplished. At least for one day. James Sugrue achieved what he set out to do on his maiden round at The Open Championship by not shooting himself out of it after 18 holes.

This week’s 148th Open at Royal Portrush is officially the most attended Championship staged outside St Andrews with the R&A announcing on Wednesday that there will be a record-breaking crowd of 237,750 for the tournament starting on Thursday.

Portrush After 68 long years, one still has to commend the R&A’s bravery to entrust Royal Portrush once more with the stewardship of the jewel in their crown — the Open Championship.

Kevin Markham visits Royal Portrush to see how Open Championship preparations are progressing.

The past in the world of professional golf was truly a foreign country.

Jamie Donaldson set his sights on an emotional return to Royal Portrush after claiming a share of the clubhouse lead on day one of the ASI Scottish Open.

Rory McIlroy insists he would not swap his consistency for world number one Brooks Koepka’s feast-or-famine approach.

With the pressure of securing a starting spot in his hometown Open Championship later this month now lifted, Graeme McDowell is relishing the opportunity to free his mind and concentrate on the task at hand: a good week in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

With only a limited number of tickets remaining for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this weekend, tournament host Paul McGinley has all the validation he needs that bringing the European Tour to Lahinch was the right call, regardless of which stars tee it up on the prestigious links tomorrow.

Charlie Mulqueen Tickets to the Masters tournament at Augusta are as precious as gold dust and usually available only to long-standing patrons and the very privileged.

Graeme McDowell was happy to escape Bethpage with only superficial damage as he looks forward to returning to the scene of his greatest triumph.

When Graeme McDowell arrived at Bethpage Black this week for the 101st PGA Championship, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Four friends have become the fastest quartet from the Republic of Ireland to row across the Atlantic ocean.

Ulster Bank has announced plans to close 11 branches in Northern Ireland in a move that will see 40 jobs lost.

Limerick Golf Club face Galway in today’s AIG Senior Cup final aiming to bridge the 15-year gap to their last victory in Irish club golf’s blue riband competition.

As one of 20 teams still standing from a starting field of 1,800, Thurles Golf Club have plenty reason to be proud heading into this week’s AIG Cups and Shields finals at Carton House.

Killarney and Royal Portrush will contest the All-Ireland Senior Cup Final today at The Royal Curragh.

There was an Irish weather wipeout at Royal Birkdale last night as Shane Lowry and former Open champions Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington all crashed out in the torrential rain.

Former winner Darren Clarke admits he never thought it would be possible to contest the Open Championship on home soil.

Experience proved the key as Limerick and Muskerry qualified for the nationals finals of the AIG Irish Senior Cup and Barton Shield at Dungarvan on Saturday.

Home Internationals

Ireland suffered an agonising tie with England as they opened the defence of their Amateur Home International series at Royal Portrush yesterday.

Ireland’s best amateurs went their separate ways this week but whether the US Amateur or the Home Internationals are their next port of call, they departed in buoyant mood following an excellent collective showing at the European Individual Amateur in Slovakia last week.

Irish team captain Tony Goode has backed late call-ups Robin Dawson and Rowan Lester to make the most of the opportunities handed to them by the withdrawals of Paul Dunne and Gary Hurley from next week’s Home International defence at Royal Portrush.

Graeme McDowell felt Shane Lowry’s pain when he heard his fellow Irishman had seen his Open Championship hopes take a sharp nosedive at St Andrews’ 17th hole on the opening morning.

A new title sponsor, superstar host, stellar field and a bigger prizefund. As if things were not already going swimmingly for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, organisers last night confirmed that today’s first-round ticket sales at Royal County Down (RCD) had made the tournament completely sold out.

With a playing group that could be lifted straight from a major championship draw, Rory McIlroy will tee off at Royal County Down tomorrow with praise ringing in his ears for putting the Irish Open back on the golfing map.

Between them, Paul McGinley, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell ensured that Europe’s Ryder Cup success over the United States had ‘Made In Ireland’ stamped all over it.

Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has blown the debate over Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell playing together wide open by saying there are not an unbeatable pairing.

Rory McIlroy’s ability to mix the sublime with the ridiculous was in evidence again at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Denver last night when he four-putted the par-three 12th for the second day running.

Royal Portrush has passed the first hurdle in plans to upgrade its courses and bring back the Open Championship by 2019.

Horizon Sports Management released a statement yesterday evening announcing that Graeme McDowell will leave the company when his current contract expires at the end of the year.

Competition specialists Royal Portrush and Douglas have again qualified for the final stages of the AIG Irish Ladies Senior Cup at Mount Wolseley, Carlow on Friday and Saturday.

Pádraig Harrington went into the weekend of the Irish Open admitting he badly needed momentum and to feel seriously nervous coming down the stretch in the final round.

Amateur Championship: Bradley Neil yesterday became the first Scot for a decade to win the Amateur Championship and immediately started to look forward to the rewards the coveted title would bring.

The Irish Open has not one but three homegrown contenders at Fota Island Resort as Graeme McDowell leads the pursuit of halfway leader Mikko Ilonen.

Royal Portrush has been pencilled in for a return to the British Open rota in 2019 but in what has been an awkward and politically sensitive three-hand reel between the R&A, the Northern Ireland Executive and the club, it will be several months at least before a definitive date can be announced.

The Royal Portrush course in the North has been invited to join the rota to host future Open Championships.

Martin Kaymer birdied three of the last five holes to jump out ahead of Graeme McDowell as the clear leader of the US Open going into Friday's second round at Pinehurst.