Lowry to opt for pro road
Effectively, financial reality has taken the decision out of his hands. Prior to Sunday, he was a carefree but relatively penniless 22-year-old full-time amateur; now he is in position to earn massive sums of money over the coming weeks and months.
For example, his victory at Baltray entitles him to a place in the WGC-Bridgestone event at Firestone, Akron, Ohio on August 6-9 along with the opportunity to compete in every European Tour event between now and the end of 2011.
He is currently pondering whether to remain in the amateur game until after the Walker Cup at Merion Golf Club in September. But the Bridgestone event takes place a month earlier and carries a prize fund of $8.5m. There is no cut so he would be guaranteed a healthy five figure cheque even if he were to finish last. Furthermore, he is also in the field for another lucrative and prestigious tournament, the USBC Champions in Shanghai in November.
Another significant result of his remarkable achievement is that Lowry has come from literally nowhere to 168th in the world rankings while he will also improve appreciably on his current 16th spot in the R&A amateur world ratings when they are upgraded in the near future.
The 22-year-old Offaly man slept on the amateur v professional decision and yesterday came to the conclusion that after all the excitement of Baltray, he wouldn’t be prepared for such a massive tournament as the BMW PGA Championship. That sounds like a very sensible decision but the immediate switch to the paid ranks remains a no-brainer.
Clearly, he has already come to that conclusion by commenting: “I can’t really see myself playing in amateur golf after what’s happened over the weekend. I think it would be a big step down and I wouldn’t have any interest in it really.”
Nevertheless, he says he will spend the next couple of days discussing his options with his parents Brendan and Bridget, girlfriend Deirdre Molloy, his family and friends and, no doubt, Conor Ridge, head of the sports management company Horizon. Lowry attended a pre-championship barbecue held by Horizon at Baltray and Ridge was conspicuous at Sunday night’s celebrations. The company already has Ryder Cup star Graeme McDowell and successful Englishman Ross Fisher on its books along with Michael Hoey, winner recently of the Portuguese Open.
“It would be too soon to play in the PGA”, said Lowry. “It would be too hard to play well over there after what happened over the weekend. And the media attention wouldn’t be great for my first Tour event really. I’d be under a lot of pressure to play well.”
Nevertheless, Shane will be further encouraged in the move knowing that people like Darren Clarke and good friend Rory McIlroy believe it is unquestionably the right course of action. In their day, Clarke and Lee Westwood both turned professional before the biennial amateur contest between Britain & Ireland and the USA and have become two of the most successful and wealthiest players in the sport. McIlroy did defer the move until he could play Walker Cup but there were two major reasons for that. Not alone was he only 18 years of age at the time but the match was played at Royal Co Down, Newcastle, just down the road from his home in Holywood. He joked on Sunday night: “Shane now has won as many European Tour titles as I have so what is he waiting for?”
Lowry has taken all that on board and will inform the captain, Colin Dalgleish of Scotland, over the next couple of days that he will not be available for the Walker Cup.
“Colin is one of a lot of people I need to talk with,” says Lowry. “I know a lot of people are saying, why not? But I’m just going to wait until the middle of the week.”
The way he kept his head on Sunday and the manner in which he maintained his routine of playing quickly and briskly was hugely impressive and suggests he has the mental strength to cope with the far different demands of the professional game. I have no doubt that support of his family and many close relations have much to do with this and through the four days at Baltray, he certainly displayed the ingredients that made his father Brendan an All-Ireland football medal winner with Offaly in 1982. Their presence on the sidelines on Sunday in spite of the lashing rain meant a great deal to him.
“I knew they were there alright,” he laughed. “There was a spot over at the corner of the 18th green, they were all inside the ropes and I could see them. There were so many people there. I have such a big family and everyone was there.”
Lowry also agreed that he enjoyed the better of the weather over the opening two days but added: “I got the good end of the draw and took advantage of that. The course was playing very short and I managed to shoot 62. I still don’t know how I did that but it gave me the confidence I needed to believe that I could win. It’s unbelievable. I still don’t know what to think. I still can’t believe I’ve won the Irish Open.”
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