Shane Lowry intent on making Masters impact

Shane Lowry has always distinguished himself as a fearless competitor, but giving up the chance to ease his pre-Masters nerves with an early visit to Augusta National must rank as one of his boldest decisions so far. 

Currently ranked 44th in the world and flying high on the confidence of three seemingly effortless Top 25 PGA Tour finishes in a row, the 27-year-old Offaly man is not approaching his Masters debut like a man simply going there for the experience.

Instead he will ravel as a highly competitive sportsman hoping to make an impact.

Fully recovered from the disappointment of the bogey-bogey finish that cost him around $66,000 (€) as he shared 17th in the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Sunday, Lowry was back in Dublin to launch a new smartphone app that has the potential to crack the US market in golf tuition.

“I think I will be coming back from the Masters with my US tour card in my pocket,” said Lowry, who is an official ambassador for Simply Golf, an app that uses geo-locational technology to allow amateurs to book golf lessons with their nearest pro in seconds.

Finishing with two bogeys, that hurt me a bit on Sunday. It was tough to take because I know I am quite close to it. I am still only one good week away from making my card over there; I have been thinking about it but in a good way.

“I’ve been doing the right things on an off the course and I never put as much into my golf. I am always prepared to play and always prepared to do well. I’m trying to leave no stone unturned and just kick on, and I know I am in a place where I can do something special in the game, so I just need to do it now.”

Lowry planned to head to Augusta National on the Wednesday before the Masters for a two-day reconnaissance mission but he will now remain in Lake Nona that week to practice.

He plays the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill next week, followed by the Texas Valero Open and then returns to his temporary base at the Orlando resort to get ready for his Masters debut with his coach Neil Manchip.

“I just want to arrive on Sunday, have a look around, get out there and play and just enjoy the week,” Lowry said.

“I feel going up to Augusta the week beforehand, trying to get to know the course, is just trying a bit too hard. The only reason everyone does it is because everyone else does, so I’ll get there on Sunday and I’ll play nine holes Monday, 18 Tuesday and nine Wednesday. That’s what I do for every other major so there is no point changing.”

Lowry sees no reason why a rookie can’t win the Masters but while he tries to play down the tension of the event, Pádraig Harrington put him straight when they had dinner on the eve of his Honda Classic playoff win eight days ago..

“One thing Pádraig said to me about the Masters was: ‘It’s everything you expect and more,’ because I said to him that I was nearly looking forward more to The Open at St Andrews this year,” Lowry said.

“That was one of the best tournaments I played in 2010. But he said, ‘Trust me, you will have a different opinion after the Masters.’”

Lowry plans to have his father Brendan caddie for him in the Par-3 Contest and he’ll be targeting victory too, despite the fact that no winner of the pre-Masters event has ever donned the green jacket that week.

“What’s the point in going if you don’t think you can win?” he said. “This thing of rookies can’t win the Masters or if you win the par three you won’t win the Masters. I think that’s all coincidences. If I play good enough golf, I know I can win that week. End of. If I don’t play well enough, I won’t win.

“I feel like I can go and contend and if I give myself a chance to win going down the back nine on Sunday, it is up to me to fight away the nerves and play good golf. The golfing gods might the shining on me.”

l Simply Golf is offering 1,000 free golf lessons to the first 1,000 people to go to SimplyGolf.com or download the app from the Apple Store and book a lesson.