VIDEO: Portrush golf mural - did you guess who it was?
Well, it certainly proved to be a talking point – not just in Portrush but right across Northern Ireland!
A golf mural which was being painted on a gable wall on the town’s Causeway Street began to attract lots of attention last week as onlookers asked: “Who is it going to be?”
Some speculated that it was going to be Portrush’s own golfing hero Graeme McDowell. However, early sketches on the wall showed that the golfer was holding the coveted Claret Jug so it had to be someone who had won The (British) Open, whereas Graeme was victorious in the US Open trophy in 2010.
Others wondered if it was going to be NI golfer Darren Clarke who won The Open at Royal St George’s back in 2011? Or was the artist going way back in time to portray Max Faulkner who scooped the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 1951?
Portrush’s own Fred Daly, whose Causeway Street home has a blue plaque erected on it, was another suggestion. Daly won The Open at Hoylake in 1947.
The finished art work on the gable wall solved the riddle as the finishing touches were put to a huge portrait of Shane Lowry who lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush Golf Club back in 2019.
Now that the last putt has been sunk on the 2024 Open golf championship at Troon, all eyes turn to the Causeway Coast as Portrush prepares to welcome back the tournament next year.
And, while Troon may not have worked out for Shane Lowry, the writing’s on the wall in Portrush – the north coast can’t wait to welcome him back!