Shane Lowry's final round before defending his Open title was an impressive, six-under-par 66 at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, as the Offaly man moved into the top 25 at the Mount Juliet event.
Lowry finished on nine under par in a tie for 23rd, nine shots off Lucas Herbert, who won his second European Tour title.
Too little to late to mount a challenge for his second Irish Open title, having won as an amateur in 2009, however, it shows that the 2019 Royal Portrush winner is in fine fettle heading off to the Kent coast.
"The plan was to go out and shoot some good golf," said Lowry, speaking to RTE Sport after his final round at the Thomastown track. "That’s where my game is at, I feel like it’s pretty good.
"I hit the ball pretty good, holed a few putts, it was a nice 66 on a Sunday to finish the week.
"Obviously, it’s disappointing not having a better finish [at the Irish Open], but I can take the confidence from the round today."
Shane Lowry posted an impressive 66 to finish at the @DDFIrishOpen - all roads now lead to Royal St George's to defend his @TheOpen title.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 4, 2021
Watch live: https://t.co/68ZKPsoWqv pic.twitter.com/sgdjPAKTh1
This year’s race for the Claret Jug takes place at Royal St George’s in Sandwich, southern England, and Lowry will spend the next week preparing around the Dublin links courses before travelling to the final major of the year.
But not before taking a couple of days off to celebrate his wife’s birthday, and then from Wednesday, all roads lead to the most-famous links tournament.
"It is Wendy’s birthday today so we’re going away for a couple of nights to relax for a couple of days, and then from Wednesday, I’ll get right back into it, play some links golf around Dublin.
"I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks, it will be an exciting week in St George’s for me.
"It’s nice hearing it, in front of your own crowd," said Lowry, who admitted that he has enjoyed being introduced as Open champion.
"It’s something that I will always have, my name will always be on that trophy, it’s very special."
Elsewhere, Cormac Sharvin finished two shots behind Lowry on seven under, while Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy both ended with two-over rounds to end up on three under and two under respectively.
