Shane Lowry ready for Masters mayhem

Shane Lowry has the game to come of age on his Masters debut today, both Pádraig Harrington and Darren Clarke agree, but for all the talents the newest Irish participant possesses, making them come alive at Augusta National is the biggest challenge of all.

For a man who admitted to having a lump in his throat as he was driven up Magnolia Lane for the first time last Sunday, Lowry will equally want to depart seven days later with head held high, having given a decent account of himself and, ideally, earned a ticket back to the Masters for 2016.

If winning a green jacket at the first attempt, done only three times and not since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, is the stuff of dreams, achieving a top-15 finish for an automatic invitation back 12 months from now is a much more realistic objective, and Lowry has the example set by four players who managed the feat last season to guide him.