Browsing: Shane

TORONTO — Just days into the offseason following their loss in Game 7 of the World Series to the Dodgers, the Blue Jays have already tallied their first win.

Shane Bieber has opted in with the Blue Jays for $16 million in 2026, a source told MLB.comâ€s Mark Feinsand, an unexpected move that immediately boosts a Blue Jays rotation in need. Bieber could have chosen to hit free agency at 30, but by picking up his player option, heâ€ll now have a shot at further re-establishing his value before hitting the open market a year from now.

The club has not confirmed the news.

The former Cy Young Award winner was widely expected to test the market immediately, fresh off Tommy John surgery and his return to the mound with the Blue Jays. After being traded to Toronto by the Guardians on July 31, Bieber put up a 3.57 ERA over seven starts down the stretch, then a 3.86 ERA over five appearances in the postseason.

Speaking after the Blue Jays†Game 7 loss to the Dodgers recently, Bieber was one of many veterans in the Blue Jays†clubhouse to praise the unique culture they had built. Itâ€s what had fellow veteran starter Chris Bassitt, now a free agent himself, saying through tears that he hoped heâ€d get another shot with this group. The 2025 Blue Jays captured something special, and now, Bieber is coming back for more.

“A lot of intangibles. Some things that are difficult to describe,†Bieber said. “The grit. The perseverance. The togetherness. Theyâ€re pulling for one another. Itâ€s not just one guy, thatâ€s the whole clubhouse.â€

Given that Bieber was still on the home stretch of his recovery from Tommy John when the Blue Jays acquired him, itâ€s hard to frame his 2025 season as the “full†version. We certainly saw flashes, perhaps the brightest of them in Game 3 of the ALCS in Seattle, when Bieber sidestepped an early stumble to dominate the Mariners. Itâ€s reasonable to believe that a full offseason and Spring Training will help Bieber, though, bringing a step closer to the pitcher who posted a 2.91 ERA from 2020 to ‘24.

For the Blue Jays, this is some much-needed good news. Frankly, this will be some of the best news they get all offseason. To have Bieber for one more season at just $16 million is a dream come true for the Blue Jays.

Work remains for the Blue Jays†rotation, but the early slots could line up with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Bieber and José Berríos. Bassitt and Max Scherzer are free agents now, but the Blue Jays are still expected to address the rotation aggressively, leaving Bowden Francis, No. 6 prospect Gage Stanifer and others to compete for depth roles. Keep in mind that both Gausman and Bieber are free agents at the end of ‘26, so the Blue Jays will be targeting long-term options at the top end of the market, not just stopgaps.

This move also gives the Blue Jays added flexibility elsewhere in the market, but they were already sitting in a position of strength there. Bo Bichette will be the headliner this offseason, but on top of Scherzer and Bassitt, Seranthony Domínguez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ty France are also free agents. Along with Gausman and Bieber being a year away, George Springer and Daulton Varsho are entering the final years of their deals. Rogers ownership has already shown a commitment to spending, but coming off the World Series run that reignited a love for baseball across Canada, the time has never been better to spend big, both in the short and long term.

This could easily end up being the best one-year pact the Blue Jays have had since Marcus Semien came north for a year in 2021 and launched 45 home runs. Now that the Blue Jays have tasted the biggest stage in baseball, they want to run it back. The news of Bieberâ€s player option is the best start they could have hoped for in early November.

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Right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber opted into his $16 million player option with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2026 season, choosing to forgo free agency, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the Cleveland Guardians last winter while he was still rehabbing from elbow surgery. As he was set to return to the big league team following four minor league rehab starts, Cleveland dealt him to Toronto at the trade deadline for prospect right-hander Khal Stephen. Stephen was later ranked by ESPN as the 60th-best prospect in baseball.

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Bieber made seven starts in the 2025 regular season for Toronto, posting a 3.57 ERA. He then made five postseason appearances, including winning Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bieber’s performance this year was in line with his previous seven campaigns, all with Cleveland, including gaining some fastball velocity (up to 92.7 mph on average) to return almost all the way back to what it was in 2021 (92.9 mph).

For his career, Bieber, a two-time All-Star, has a 66-34 record in 141 starts with a 3.24 ERA and 995 strikeouts. He won the Cy Young Award in the 60-game 2020 season, when he finished with an 8-1 record, a league-low 1.63 ERA and AL-best 122 strikeouts.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.

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OTTAWA — Whether Shane Pinto is a second- or third-line centre could be a matter of millions.

Now, with the Ottawa Senators forward leading the league in goals and slated to reach restricted free agency on July 1, the matter is a particularly pressing one.

Pinto plays the toughest matchups, scores and kills penalties. Yet, on paper, he slots in as Ottawaâ€s third-line centre. Thanks to a scorching start to the season with seven goals while still taking on the toughest defensive matchups, Pinto has established himself as Ottawaâ€s second-most-important centre.

Nominally the third-line centre, he would be within his rights asking for more than the $7.1 million that official second-linecentre Dylan Cozens makes.

The Senators have offered Pinto an eight-year contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday. Per Friedman, there is “nothing imminent†between the two sides, but the Senators wanted to show Pintoâ€s camp that they are serious about finding a deal.

If Pinto left in free agency or was traded, he would not be easily replaced. He is integral to Ottawaâ€s viability in becoming a Cup contender someday.

Thatâ€s why a long-term deal makes sense.

Pinto will only just be hitting his prime at age 25 when next season begins. Ottawa has $30 million in cap space. With the salary cap increasing, the Senators have money to dish out. Plus the majority of their young core is locked up long term, although Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot are all set to hit free agency within the next three years.

Ottawa should sign Pinto to an eight-year contract. The entirety of what should be his best years would take place in Ottawa, unlike a replacement prospect or a 29-year-old big-ticket free agent.

It would enhance the Senators for now and into the future.

Pinto could be considered among the Senators’ five most irreplaceable players, alongside Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark.

Since last season, no Senator has started shifts in the offensive zone less frequently than Pinto. He sits second in defensive zone starts, too.

Whenever Ottawa needs to hold on to a game and shut down its opponentâ€s best, Pinto is on the ice. In the first round last season, Pinto helped hold the top line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies to three goals in six games at five-on-five.

Pinto is also Ottawa’s most trusted penalty killer and has been effective scoring short-handed, leading the team with five shorties last season.

“When you play good on both sides of the puck, good things happen,†coach Travis Green said.

Itâ€s also worth noting that Stutzle — typically the Senators’ first-line centre — played left wing last weekend with Cozens in the middle, and both scored while paired together. The more Stutzle plays left wing, the more important it is to have Pinto as an option at centre.

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Pintoâ€s growth upside and scoring punch

Twenty-goal scorers are hard to come by, especially for a Ottawa Senators that has struggled to put the puck in the net. Pinto is on an absolute heater right now — so much so that, hilariously, heâ€s currently on pace to score more goals in a single season than Wayne Gretzky ever did.

At five-on-five, he has an 60 per cent expected goals share, which would be the best of his career by far.

Even if he comes off the boil, thereâ€s reason to believe his career trajectory is pointing up.

Against the New York Islanders, Pinto scored, but he also had six shots including a penalty shot. Heâ€s on pace for the most shots of his career, which could turn a 20-goal scorer into a 30-goal threat.

“Heâ€s one of those guys that when we talked about our team improving, that youâ€d hope that heâ€d come back and be a better player than he was last year,†Green said. “Weâ€re not sure where he ends up as a player.

“His details are sharp. Heâ€s got a quick release. He works hard. Thatâ€s how we want to play.â€

Pinto wonâ€t shoot 33 per cent for the rest of the season, but heâ€s a career 13.4 per cent shooter who scored 21 goals last season even though he went goalless for 19 games after coming back from injury to start the season. Heâ€s averaged a goal every four games in his last three seasons, a 21-goal pace, from age 22 to 24.

And all that while playing mainly a defensive role. But Green has now started to give Pinto minutes on the power play, befitting his hot hand.

The one knock on Pinto is his playmaking. He’s a scorer whose goal tally exceeds his assists. Nonetheless, in every season since 2022-23, he has set a career high in either goals, assists or points. He always improves: why would that stop at age 25?

In the new world of rising NHL salaries, $8 million is set to become the new $6 million. Recently, we analyzed contracts from excellent defensive centres who also contribute significantly offensively, including Philip Danault (six years x $5.5 million), Anton Lundell (six years x $5 million) and Anthony Cirelli (eight years x $6.25 million). Lots of fives and sixes, but the cap will have gone up by around $20 million since those players signed.

Letâ€s say the Senators signed Pinto to an eight-year deal worth $7.5 million annually. That would make up 7 per cent of next yearâ€s likely $104 million cap, which is only expected to rise further in the coming years. What may trigger sticker shock now would possibly look like underpayment in three to four years. Remember when people thought Tkachuk, Sanderson and Stutzle were overpaid when they re-signed? Those contracts now look like bargains.

Ottawa has $30 million in space — it can afford slightly overpaying without adversely hurting the roster. And if youâ€re Pinto, do you say no to a $60 million dollar deal?

With a new collective bargaining agreement set to take effect, the Senators can only sign Pinto for eight years until next summer. Then, if Pinto went elsewhere, his maximum term would be seven years for re-signing (or in a sign-and-trade) and seix years elsewhere. For Pinto to recoup that $60 million, heâ€d need to be paid $10 million on a six-year contract, or $8.5 million over seven years. Essentially, Ottawa could pay less than market value, but still give Pinto more money — thatâ€s an advantage the Senators should use.

Pinto would be 33 at the end of an eight-year deal — hardly old. If youâ€re a small-market team like the Senators that might not be able to pay to the cap moving forward, you sign your players to high AAVs that you hope age well over time, aiming to find value where you can.

One caveat is that Pinto’s leverage in negotiations is likely at its peak as he leads the league in goals. Every time Pinto scores, Nick Cousins shouts out “Cha-Ching†in the Senators locker room: ‘Poor Cous†knows when someoneâ€s about to be rich. That might tempt the team to wait a little before signing off on a deal.

The Senators know Pinto and his importance to the team. Heâ€s one of Ottawa’s best players — and he should be paid that way for eight years.

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Shane Wright skated in his 100th career NHL game tonight, doing so against his hometown team, scoring a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime.

The Maple Leafs all night seemed to have an answer for the Kraken. Each time the Kraken scored, the Maple Leafs responded, but in the end, Josh Mahura netted the overtime winner, giving the Maple Leafs no chance to respond.

The scoring was started by Wright. Returning to Toronto, the 21-year-old opened the scoring with his second of the season and 26th of his NHL career. Wright added an assist on the Kraken’s second goal of the game, bringing his career totals to 26 goals and 55 points in 100 games.

The production for the Kraken’s former 2022 fourth overall pick started slowly, but this Eastern Canada road trip has boded well for him, picking up a point in each game. He began the road trip with an assist against the Montreal Canadiens, then scored his first of the season against the Ottawa Senators and then added a pair of points tonight.

Wright was dangerous all night, finishing with five shots on goal in 16:04 of ice time.

The Kraken have now completed half of their six-game road trip, which continues in Philadelphia on Monday.

Kraken’s Matty Beniers Off To Strong Start; Poised For Breakout CampaignIt’s still early in the season, but Matty Beniers looks poised to become the NHL’s next breakout star.

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NEW DEHLI — Keita Nakajima shot a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead at DP World India Championship after the third round Saturday, moving in sight of his second title on the European tour.

The 25-year-old Nakajima, a former top-ranked amateur, has two European Ryder Cup stars as his nearest challengers with Tommy Fleetwood (69) in second place and Shane Lowry (69) a stroke back in third.

No. 2-ranked Rory McIlroy, the main attraction at Delhi Golf Club, shot 68 and was in a tie for 15th place — seven strokes off the lead heading into the final round.

“I’m probably two shots too far behind to have a realistic chance,†McIlroy said.

Nakajima birdied four of his first eight holes, and then three in a row from No. 12 over a combined 70 feet to jump clear of then-leader Fleetwood. He parred his way home to retain the lead in his bid for a first title on the tour since March 2024, which also came in India at the Hero Indian Open.

Nakajima said the secret to his good third round was being able to watch his playing partner, Lowry.

“I love his swing tempo,†Nakajima said, “and I copied him. So that’s why my swing (was) better than yesterday. And mindset was great.â€

Fleetwood held the overnight lead, birdied two of his first three holes and also the par-5 No. 8. His only bogey came at the 17th after three-putting from 30 feet, but he made amends with a birdie at the last to make it into the final group.

“Keita is not far enough ahead where he’s completely in control,†said Fleetwood, who won the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour in August and was the top points scorer for Europe in its Ryder Cup victory last month.

“Just go into tomorrow, enjoy it. Final group is always great. You’ve got to enjoy those moments. You don’t know when they’re going to come again.â€

NEW DELHI — Shane Lowry ran off five straight birdies on the back nine and then got up-and-down for birdie on the 18th hole Thursday for an 8-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Keita Nakajima in the DP World India Championship.

Rory McIlroy decided to leave driver out of his golf bag at tight, tree-lined Delhi Golf Club. He had a collection of bogeys and birdies and settled on a 69 in the inaugural tournament.

“Dog was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker,†McIlroy said. His bag featured a 3-wood and 5-wood, the latter in case he needed more height for longer shots into par 5s.

That didn’t help him on his 17th hole, the par-5 eighth, when he pulled his tee shot into the trees, advanced it only about 15 yards into the rough made a bogey.

Lowry returned from his Ryder Cup heroics at the Spanish Open last week by missing the cut. Another week into the closing stretch of the season seemed to suit him much better, particularly his iron play and putter.

Starting on the 11th, his five birdie putts were all in about the 10-foot range.

“I putted nicely today. I played nice,†Lowry said. “You know, 64 is a really nice score. It’s not that hard when you are out there but when you start missing fairways it becomes quite tricky.â€

Lowry, who holed the putt that assured Europe would keep the Ryder Cup, played alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who each shot 68.

There was plenty of reminiscing about their stellar performance before an unruly New York crowd at Bethpage Black. Lowry said one part of Delhi Golf Club went along the streets and they could hear the horns of the nearby cars.

“It was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd,†Lowry said.

Nakajima also had five straight birdies in the middle of his round, starting on No. 18 and then four straight to begin the front nine. This is an important time of the year for the former world No. 1 amateur as he tries to get into the top 10 of European tour players who would be granted PGA Tour cards for 2026.

Ben Griffin, who made his Ryder Cup debut for the U.S. team, opened with a 68 alongside another American, Michael Kim, who was late arriving in India because of visa issues. Kim already has won on the European tour this year at the French Open.

This start a big stretch run for McIlroy at the end of the year, as he also plans to play the Abu Dhabi Championship and DP World Tour Championship, along with the Australian Open.

MADRID — Jon Rahm made seven birdies to get back into contention for a fourth title at the Spanish Open on Friday, but fellow Ryder Cup winner Shane Lowry couldn’t fully recover from a poor opening day as he missed the cut.

Rahm’s 5-under 66 put him five shots behind leader Marco Penge of England (67) after the Spaniard had opened with a 72 on Thursday at his home tournament.

Lowry had an even worse start with a 75 in the opening round — two weeks after making the clinching putt to win the Ryder Cup for Europe — and a 68 on Friday wasn’t enough to avoid missing the cut by one stroke.

Penge hit four birdies in a flawless round to sit one shot ahead of a trio made up of Jeff Winther of Denmark, Joel Girbach of Switzerland and Canada’s Aaron Cockerill.

Rahm is tied for 18th. He is trying to surpass Seve Ballesteros as the tournament’s most successful golfer since the creation of the European tour in 1972.

Rahm is making his seventh appearance in Madrid, with his victories coming in 2018, 2019 and 2022. He was runner-up to fellow Spaniard Ãngel Hidalgo in a playoff last year.

Hidalgo won’t be back to challenge Rahm this time after the defending champion missed the cut at three over.

TAMPA, Fla. — Shane Pinto scored his second goal of the night late in the third period to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in the opener for both clubs.

Dylan Cozens and Artus Zub also scored for the Senators, and Claude Giroux added an empty-netter. Brady Tkachuk had three assists.

Linus Ullmark stopped 21 shots for Ottawa.

Brayden Point had a goal and two assists for Tampa Bay, which fell to 21-10-2 in season openers. Nikita Kucherov scored twice and Oliver Bjorkstrand had a power-play goal.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who played only two periods in the pre-season, finished with 29 saves.

Jake Sanderson intercepted a pass at centre ice and transitioned up ice quickly to take the puck to the net, where Pinto punched in a loose puck with 1:47 left to put the Senators ahead for good at 4-3.

The Lightning jumped on top early as Bjorkstrand, acquired from Seattle at the trade deadline last season, slid into the slot to receive a pass from Jake Guentzel and snap a shot past Ullmark with 14:25 left in the first period. Point made it 2-0 less than 90 seconds later, and Cozens answered with a power-play goal for Ottawa midway through the period.

Kucherov regained the two-goal advantage for Tampa Bay with 5:14 left in the first on the Lightningâ€s second power-play goal of the period.

Zub threw a puck toward the net on the opening shift of the second that bounced off the post, then off Vasilevskiy 42 seconds into the period. Pinto converted a breakaway that tied the game with 4:51 left in the second.

Senators: At Florida on Saturday.

Lightning: Host New Jersey on Saturday.

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TORONTO — Six months ago, Trey Yesavage made his professional debut in Single-A, where sparse crowds scatter themselves through the stadiums recently abandoned by the buzz of Spring Training.

Saturday morning in Toronto, the 22-year-old climbed the steps of the Blue Jays†press conference room, then looked out to see a crowd that could rival his Dunedin debut. A stunning season of development — and five teams — have led him here.

Yesavage is the Blue Jays†Game 2 starter in the ALDS, manager John Schneider announced. The 22-year-old who has shot through the organization like a rocket ship isnâ€t just here to tag along. Heâ€s here to beat the damn Yankees.

“I canâ€t really repeat what he said,†Schneider said, laughing to himself. “But he was very excited.â€

Thereâ€s an edge to Yesavage, one that hides behind the well-mannered rookie who gets right to the point in his interviews, short and sweet. Heâ€s incredibly confident, but manages to remain subtle about it. Perhaps itâ€s because of how matter-of-fact he is about things.

Baseball is complicated. Players coming up today are already drastically different than those from a decade ago, given how much player development has changed — and in some ways accelerated — but there still comes a point where a player is thrown into the deep end. Sink-or-swim time comes for everyone, and the more you complicate an already complicated game, the less likely you are to stay above water.

Yesavage makes this all sound so simple. When he was promoted, the final step after playing for all four Minor League affiliates in 2025, he deadpanned that there are 5-year-olds who play baseball. Heâ€s 22. Heâ€d be just fine.

Sitting there Saturday, all of the cameras and another room of unfamiliar faces looking at him, Yesavage didnâ€t blink.

“Iâ€m built for this,†Yesavage said.

With Yesavage pitching Game 2 at home, Schneider said that part of the strategy is to keep the rookie away from Yankee Stadium, which can quickly become a “hostile†environment. Yesavage is surely built for The Bronx, too, but even the fastest-rising prospect in baseball needs to pace himself.

“I’ve experienced a lot this year. This is my fifth team I’ve been with. I’ve met the entire organization,†Yesavage said. “But being here in this spot, I couldn’t have drawn it up any better.â€

By pitching Game 2, Yesavage could also come back around in a bullpen role for a potential Game 5, if the Blue Jays need, but thatâ€s a conversation for down the road. The Blue Jays already enter the ALDS with the advantage of setting their rotation fresh with the Yankees coming from the Wild Card Series and have to feel confident with Shane Bieber, the former Cy Young Award winner, leading them into New York for Game 3.

The coming days will tell the real story, but the plans have been laid exactly as the Blue Jays wanted them. This has all been allowed by the progress of Yesavage, who has already flashed dominance and earned the respect of teammates for his demeanor just as much as his big fastball and baffling splitter.

“He seems unfazed by a lot of things,†said George Springer, who knows October as well as anyone on this roster. “I think he’s outwardly calm, and I think that perception for him, it does a lot for us. You would expect somebody to appear nervous, but he doesn’t. And I think that just shows who he is as a player, who he is as a human being.â€

Yesavage is a long way from where he started. Heâ€s a long way from facing the Jupiter Hammerheads, Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

Heâ€s finally where he belongs, not at one of the many stops along the way, living out of suitcases in another hotel with an uncertain check-out date. The Blue Jays just keep betting on him, though, and they havenâ€t been wrong yet.

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Every great comeback story has a hinge point, and by the time Shane Lowry descended into the 18th and final fairway at Bethpage Black in the eighth match of Ryder Cup Sunday, his dalliance with fate seemed clear.

The Euro Sunday snooze at the Ryder Cup had carried on for too long to be a joke. Either Lowry was going to secure the half-point needed to retain the Ryder Cup right here and now, or the Euros were in serious danger of collapsing in historic fashion.

As he arrived in the 18th, Lowry was clinging to life against Russell Henley, whose week from hell had suddenly morphed into a moment of opportunity. Henley, 1-up on the last, could close out Lowry with a birdie to secure another a shock in a growing red tidal wive — giving the Americans full points in six of their first eight matches of the day. The problem was that Henley’s nerves were getting the best of him, and both golfers knew it. Henley, a prolific putter, had faced an eight-foot birdie putt to close out the match on the previous hole and left it well short. It was the kind of mistake that opened a window, and Lowry was suddenly feeling quite stressed about walking through it.

In the thirty minutes preceding Henley and Lowry’s stroll up 18, everything had broken the Americans’ way: First Justin Thomas and Cameron Young had made birdies on the last to grab unexpected victories and electrify the crowd, then Bryson DeChambeau clawed back from 5-down for a halve with Matt Fitzpatrick, and then Xander Schauffele and J.J. Spaun delivered convincing American wins. Now, suddenly, the attention had turned to the last few groups on the course, who suddenly seemed to be playing their singles matches with the Ryder Cup hanging in the balance.

As the golfers strolled down the fairway before a tense crowd, the beauty of Ryder Cup Sunday was suddenly in full view. The stakes were clear as daylight: Both needed a birdie. So clear, in fact, that Lowry had the good sense to deliver himself a pep talk before he reached his ball in the fairway. As he walked through the green carpet, he turned to caddie, Darren Reynolds, for a moment of levity.

“I said to him, ‘I’ve got an opportunity to do the greatest thing I’ve ever done today,’” Lowry recalled later with a twinkle in his eye.

“And I did it.”

Seconds before clinching the Ryder Cup, Shane Lowry delivered a truly epic line to his caddie, Darren Reynolds.

“I said [to Reynolds], ‘I’ve got an opportunity to do the greatest thing I’ve ever done today,’ and I did it.”

— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) September 29, 2025

Lowry’s moment of brilliance arrived in three parts. The first: His approach from the fairway, about 120 yards out from the flagstick. As he’d done all week, Lowry seized the opportunity to pressure his opponent, hitting a brilliant pitch shot low through the air and right on the flagstick. His ball landed right next to the flag and spun back neatly to 10 feet. The crowd erupted. Henley responded with a dart of his own, and another eruption.

The second part arrived a few minutes later, when Lowry watched Henley leave his second straight birdie putt short. Suddenly the window of opportunity had grown into a door. Lowry’s eyes grew wide.

The third part arrived just a few seconds after Henley’s miss, when Lowry steadied himself, lowered his focus and struck a calm, comfortable putt straight into the center of the cup. He does not remember a lot of the emotion that came after that ball fell into the whole — a release that topped any the Irishman gave in a long, emotionally charged week of golf. He’d halved the match, and he did not need to explain himself for his emotion: He’d retained the Ryder Cup for Europe.

“To finish the Ryder Cup with a putt from ten feet — to be honest, no [I didn’t expect to be in that position],” Lowry admitted later. “Obviously I have faith in my team to go out, and I thought we were going to win the Ryder Cup early today. But it’s not that — we were going out to win our own match. That was the main goal.”

The experience coming down the stretch had been “the worst two hours of my life.” But now, on the 18th green, Lowry was overcome. His celebration carried on for several minutes, including a sweet serenade from the European faithful in the grandstand. Lowry had fought off the great American Sunday charge. He’d done the greatest thing he’d ever done.

“And I’m very proud of myself,” Lowry said.

And with that, his teammates at the Ryder Cup quieted him in thunderous applause.

This comeback story ended at the hinge point — and Shane Lowry was damn proud of it.