Since 1860, 223 golfers have managed to win at least one of the four majors. However, while we haven't put much effort into researching this, we believe we're right in saying that of those 223 winners, Shane Lowry was the first to be subsequently accused by his own grandmother on national television of eating turf.
Amid all the great social media clips from the last couple of days - including plenty of other gems from Shane's granny - we must not let the funniest of the lot fly under the radar. Yes, we loved Granny Emily Scanlon claiming she drank brandy for the first time in ten years on Sunday night. Yes, we laughed at her great story about her husband's win in the Mullingar Scratch Cup but they fade in comparison to her story about putting Shane in the turf box when he was a young fella.
Shane Lowry's proud grandmother Emily Scanlon reveals one of the secrets to his success.......eating turf from the bog for the immune system. pic.twitter.com/TOe70BdTfF
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 22, 2019
"He had a great upbringing," began Emily. "I remember I minded him while his mother was working; they were building a house in Ferbane. He was always on the go."
So to try keep manners on him when she'd leave the room, Emily had the most Irish granny tactic: "I had a turf box in the corner beside the range, and when I'd go up to the clothesline I'd put him into it."
Here comes the plot twist:
He'd have all the turf mould ate when I'd come back.
Whether it worked for his immune system or not, I don’t know, but he got there anyway.
There you have it, the diet of a major winner.
