Shane Lowry knew what was up for grabs as he was walking up the 18th fairway at Bethpage Black on Sunday afternoon.

With the American crowd buzzing around him, suddenly alive just like the hopes of a U.S. team comeback that seemed impossible just a few hours prior, Lowry turned to his caddie.

“I have the chance to do the coolest thing of my life here,” he told Darren Reynolds.

Lowry did just that. 

After Russell Henley missed a 10-foot look for birdie ahead of him, which would have given him the win in their singles match, Lowry expertly sank his closer birdie putt. Instantly, he dropped the putter and broke out into a massive celebration on the Long Island green.

Lowry had secured the Ryder Cup for Europe for another two years.

“I mean, I’ve been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game,” he said on NBC, fighting back tears. “That was the hardest couple of hours of my whole life, honestly.”

Lowry and the Europeans entered Sunday with a massive lead over the United States. They only needed two points to retain the cup, though the Americans mounted a wild comeback to suddenly get back into it. By the time Lowry hit the 18th green, Europe’s lead was down to just three points.

But since Lowry halved his match with Henley, Europe got the last half point it needed to retain the cup. They ended up winning the event, 15-13. It’s now the ninth time in the last 12 outings that Europe has won the Ryder Cup, and it marked the continent’s first win on U.S. soil since 2012.

The celebration was instantly on for Lowry. He was spotted drinking a beer next to the 18th green pretty quickly after his match had ended, and he had an Irish flag draped around his neck like a scarf during the trophy celebration with a smile from ear to ear.

Lowry has won three times on the PGA Tour in his career, most recently at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2024. He had four top-10 outings on Tour this past season, two of which were runner-up finishes. He entered this week, his third career Ryder Cup, at No. 24 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Lowry already had a very respectable golf career under his belt before this Ryder Cup. He won the British Open when it was in Ireland in 2019, for example. He’s not yet 40, either, and presumably has plenty of golf ahead of him.

But winning the Ryder Cup again, and being the man who officially made it happen in dramatic fashion on the 18th green, is as big as anything he could pull off in the sport.

“The Ryder Cup means everything to me, honestly,” he said. “I’ve won The Open in Ireland, it’s amazing, it’s a dream come true. But the Ryder Cup for me is everything. To do that there today on the 18th green in front of everyone, it was so hard out there.”