In the bag: Shane’s caddie is just the job

THE Shane Lowry fairytale sucked in a sidekick yesterday with confirmation that his caddie of over two years will make the transition from the amateur to professional game with the new Irish Open champion.

Dave Reynolds is from Clara, just a handful of miles down the road from the Lowry homestead in Ferbane. Lowry singled out his contribution, and his calming influence in particular, after his play-off win last weekend. It is yet another heartwarming angle to the 22-year-old’s meteoric rise. It is both admirable and risky. There is little doubt that he could benefit greatly by choosing a more worldly bagman to guide him through his first steps on the European Tour. “He’s obviously not experienced or anything but I have to give him a chance to learn and see what he can do for me over the next whatever many months or years or how long it’s going to be. He’s been great to me and I feel I owe it to him to give him the chance to learn about caddying and to see if he can do the job for me.”

Reynolds will at least be familiar with the spotlight having played senior football for Offaly in the 1990s, during which time he earned a Leinster Senior Championship medal under Tommy Lyons’ charge in ‘97.