Despite Shane Lowry's fairytale Irish Open win, politics and power came first

A tournament played at a golf course owned by a deeply divisive US president layered this story with more troubling dimensions.

Shane Lowry reads the green ahead of his birdie putt on the seventh green. Pic: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Zoom in and what we had in West Clare on Sunday evening was an Irishman sinking a 29-foot putt to win the Amgen Irish Open by a record margin in front of a raucous Irish crowd, and on a links course of no little beauty.

Zoom out and what we had was a tournament played at a golf course owned by a deeply divisive US president whose presence at his eponymous Trump International Golf Links and Hotel couldn’t help but layer this fairytale with more troubling dimensions.