Shane Lowry laps it up in Phoenix as 600,000 fans put on the pressure

Darren Clarke might have missed Shane Lowry revving up the crowd at the Waste Management Phoenix Open but if the European Ryder Cup skipper was looking for a sign the Clara man is up for a fight in September, he got it on Sunday.

The world No 21 arrived at the signature 16th making a late run at what turned out to be a tied sixth finish at TPC Scottsdale, and another raft of Ryder Cup qualifying points via the world rankings.

But it wasn’t the five birdies in the last seven holes that caught the eye but the way Lowry took on the US crowd and produced a birdie to order in an event where Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama beat Rickie Fowler at the fourth extra hole in front of record crowds.