Shane Lowry Wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Hugs Tree

Shane Lowry won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. The 28-year old Irishman teed off on the par-4 18th with a 1-shot lead on Bubba Watson. While Watson watched from the clubhouse, Lowry hit his tee shot well left of the fairway, leaving himself with a difficult shot over some large, thick trees.

Lowry politely asked the gallery to move and hit the ball up and through the trees, landing the ball pin high and leaving himself with a birdie opportunity. Lowry knocked in the putt, won his first PGA event, and immediately got a picture of himself hugging the tree that aided the biggest shot of his career. The tree was later quoted as saying, “I feel so small in Shane Lowry’s arms.”

Earlier in the round, Lowry hit a spectacular shot over the trees on the par-4 10th after his drive went too far left.

Lowry needed a line-of-site relief drop that put him behind a group of trees almost in the 9th fairway, and instead of attempting to punch out through the trees like he did on 18, he took a wedge and went over the trees. Somehow the ball managed to bounce in the rough on the left side of the green and curl back towards the hole, leaving Lowry a tap in for birdie.

[Getty]

Golf wins again.