Shane staying grounded
Three years ago, he burst on to the international scene by claiming the 2009 Irish Open at Baltray while still an amateur.
That victory catapulted him onto the global stage, rubbing shoulders with the game’s elite players, and he is now living the dream.
Such a sudden lifestyle change has been the ruination of many others. But not Lowry. His approach to the game of golf is as it always was — so why change a successful formula? His team of Neil Manchip (coach) and Dermot Byrne (caddy) continue by his side, while Cleveland-Srixon continue to satisfy his equipment needs.
Lowry’s 2011 campaign began with a broken wrist and ended with a series of outstanding performances that lifted him to 41st on the Race to Dubai European Tour order of merit. His official earnings amounted to €764,778, bringing his total since he turned professional to a cool €1,411,349.
Twelve months on, as he heads for a three-week stint in the Middle East, Lowry has plenty to feel satisfied about.
Yet, despite such achievements, there are plenty of critics who believe he should be cutting a more svelte figure on the golf course and devoting more hours to the gym in pursuit of glory. Lowry is well aware of the barbs.
“I’m not the fittest fella ever but can I play four weeks in a row and be okay on the Sunday in the fourth week — yes I can,” he reasoned. “That’s why I’m comfortable in myself and don’t want to make any major changes. I’m happy with what I’m doing and just because X, Y and Z are going to the gym 10 times a week, doesn’t mean I have to. It’s something that Tiger started and everyone is on the band wagon now. I do a little bit, it’s not as if I go home and sit on the couch every evening. But just because a fella does an hour on the treadmill and lifts weights doesn’t mean he can get the ball in the hole from six feet.”
His days of working on a fitness regimen with former rugby international Eric Miller are over. And when it comes to mulling things over in his mind, he only has to get chatting to Neil Manchip, his coach from his days with the Golfing Union of Ireland, to put things in order.
“We met and discussed where I was at the end of the 2011 season. He told me that the golf I had played at the end of the year was good enough and if I played like that, I’d be alright and there was nothing I needed to change.
“There are a lot of distractions… different equipment, clubs, coaches, mind coaches, all this kind of stuff. I try to steer away from it as much as I can. Neil is great for that. If I came home with a gadget, it would be straight into the bin. And there’s no need for a mind coach with him around. I speak to Neil every night of a tournament week and he comes to quite a few as well. We have a good relationship and it works well for me. I’m a very instinctive player. I feel it and do it as opposed to looking at it on camera.”
Most pros set goal at the start of every campaign. Not Lowry though.
“Obviously I’d love to win and it is the first thing on the agenda but if I finish second four or five times, it still hasn’t been a bad year. I know I’m good enough. I don’t think I have anything to prove to anyone. It’s not easy to win because the standard is so good. 140 or so players tee it up most weeks and they can all win. You might play your best golf and find someone else in better form than you.”
He recalled the 2011 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth where he put in a birdie, birdie, eagle finish to claim fourth and collected a career high cheque for €191,100 as a case in point.
“Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Simon Dyson were the three players ahead of me,” he said. “If it was another tournament in a different week, Donald and Westwood wouldn’t have been playing. When I came fourth in Abu Dhabi two years ago, the three ahead of me were in the top 10 in the world. Another week, they wouldn’t have been there and I’d have won.”
Apart from that week at Wentworth, the first half of 2011 was largely forgettable. But fourth in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama, 13th in the Singapore Masters and fourth in the season-ending Dubai World Championship earned him a cool €350,000 and sent him into 2012 in a positive frame of mind.
He agreed: “That has given me the confidence that I can push on this year. I putted well which is a big part of professional golf but I stuck to the same things. I didn’t change any equipment or anything in my swing. I persevered with what I had and did really well. Changing so quickly from amateur to professional was very difficult. I had been looking at the guys on tour as super heroes whereas they’re just normal people. I look-laid back but the biggest pressure on me is from myself. No matter how well I do, I feel I should be doing better. Some times I try too hard.”
Lowry is looking forward to playing in the Irish Open at Portrush in June, given that he has already won and finished second in the North of Ireland Championship over the Dunluce links.
“It’s a great golf course and a great venue and sure to draw major crowds. The game up there will never be as good again as it is now so this is the perfect time for it. I’m the last Irishman to win the Irish Open on a links and it would be a great one to win. How often do I think about that week in 2009? Well, not all that much. I’m keen to get another win to get that one out of people’s memories.
“It’s not that I’m sick of talking about it because I’m probably going to be talking about it for the rest of my life. It’s probably the greatest thing that’s going to happen to me bar winning a major.”
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