Shane Lowry laments not taking a step back

“I was probably a bit hard on myself right then, coming in as well. I think if I had just relaxed a little bit more, I could have done something a bit better."

Nothing warps time and space like the crushing Sunday afternoon pressure of a major.

Just ask Shane Lowry, who focused little on the rules rumpus involving the USGA and Dustin Johnson and instead gave a frank and honest assessment of his performance in the US Open at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday and how he lost a four-stroke lead to finish three shots behind eventual winner Dustin Johnson.

“I tried my best to win this thing,” he said as he stood in a dais in the mixed zone after the presentation, spotlights and microphones in his face, trying to make sense out of what had just happened to him.

“It’s difficult to describe the way I felt (on the back nine).

“My bad holes, they probably got a little bit quick. Everything happened quickly. But that’s what happens when you play a few bad holes. They’re kind of over before you know it. You’d like to have them back again.”

Lowry wears his heart on his sleeve and as the temperature gauge overheated on the final stretch, he admitted he did himself few favours.

“I was probably a bit hard on myself right then, coming in as well,” he said.

“I think if I had just relaxed a little bit more, I could have done something a bit better.”

It wasn’t quite the 80 that cost Rory McIlroy the 2011 Masters. But like Rory, Lowry had a four-shot lead and lost it as his lack of experience down the stretch in majors was exposed and a more experienced player took advantage.

The highlight of the week for the bearded Clara man will — quite rightly — be his performance on Saturday, when he played 32 holes in three under par to take the lead by two.

He eventually extended it to four shots by picking up two strokes in the last four holes of his delayed third round on Sunday morning to head the field on seven under.

Nobody, not even the amazing athlete that is Johnson, went that deep at Oakmont.

“I’ve never felt so comfortable on a golf course in my life,” Lowry said of his Saturday and Sunday morning exhibition.

“So whatever in the zone is, I was there.”

Had the final round started at 8.30 am, he may have won in a canter.

But given the difficulty of leading a major on the final day, he admitted that having six hours between the end of his third round and the 3.30pm start to his fourth round, was very far from easy.

He said: “Those few hours were very tough. I was quite restless. I tried to go for a kip and could’t get to sleep.

“It wasn’t ideal but that is the way it is.”

Admitting that he hit a lot of “okay shots but not enough great shots,” he added: “These are the days you learn from. Dustin Johnson has been in my shoes now a lot of times so he deserves one.

“I will come back from this. I know I will give myself a chance again some time.”

The disappointment will take some time to fade but Lowry can reflect on the fact that had he not three-putted the 14th, 15th and 16th, he’d have had a chance.

“I was hitting okay shots and getting okay results,” he admitted.

“I wasn’t doing anything spectacular and anything really bad either. I was just in between.”

Aware than he might be leading rather than tied after his par at the 13th as Johnson bogeyed the 14th, he said: “To be honest, I was just trying to make pars. It was such a slog out there. I felt like I was hitting good shots just getting nothing out of them.

“For instance. I know I made a great par save on 13 but I hit a great iron shot in there and it just came up a yard from being pretty close.

“When I made a great par save on 13, I really thought I was in the tournament. If anything, I was hoping he’d get the one-shot penalty. But that’s the way it is.

“Obviously, he didn’t need the extra shot in the end. Of course, it would have been interesting if we were tied at the same score.”

Asked when it slipped away, he said: “The 17th green. I thought, if I birdied 17, I’d give myself a chance at birdieing the last, and Dustin was 4 under in the last, and I was thinking, if he gets penalised a shot and whatever, I could (tie).

“But as I was was walking up onto the green, I saw he hit on 350 yards right down the middle of the fairway.

“Obviously, fair play for Dustin. He’s been in my shoes a few times now. I’m happy for him. He’s a great guy.

“Him and his brother Austin are two great fellas. He’s definitely one of the top players. He’s done really well. He deserved it. He played the best golf this week.”

Insisting that the rules confusion over whether or not Johnson would be docked a shot after his ball moved on the fifth green, Lowry said: “No, it didn’t affect the way I played.

If anything, I credit Dustin for playing the way he played on the way in, having that hanging over him, because I probably would have wanted to know straightaway if it was me.

“That actually didn’t affect me much at all. I really feel like I let it go today, and it’s a great disappointment.

“The more I think about it, the more upset I’m getting. It’s one of those that’s going to be hard to take. It’s going to be a tough few days.

“But I led by four shots in the tournament going into the final round. I had a lead with five holes to play.

“I’m definitely good enough to win one of these. So I’ll get back on the horse in a couple of weeks.

“Back to Firestone in a few weeks. Looking forward to defending there. And obviously, I’ve got The Open and the PGA in the next few weeks.

“Just get back to good form and looking forward to the next few weeks where the conditions won’t be quite as hard.

“Obviously, second position, I’m not happy. But there’s lots of positives to take from this week.

“It’s the toughest test of golf, and this is a true test of golf, and I was right up there for 67 holes.

“The whole round really. So that’s golf. You win some, you lose some.“It’s not easy to get yourself in a position I was in this morning. When I got myself there, I didn’t finish the job off, which is really disappointing.”