Shane Lowry: 'I get stopped a little more' since Open win, but 'I've taken it in my stride'

Shane Lowry says becoming a major winner has not changed him as a person.

The Open champion makes his return to the European Tour this week when he tees it up at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Lowry intends to play five or six more tournaments in Europe before the end of the season in a bid to became Race to Dubai champion.

The Offaly man said it has all been positive since he landed the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush.

He said: "I'm out and about, but I do my normal things like day-to-day I drop Iris to school and I pick her up and we go to the playground and we go for a coffee.

"Yes, I do get stopped a little bit more, I bring her with me so I don't have to stop and talk as she's always running around.

"But I think I've taken it in my stride pretty well and I think I've handled it pretty well in the last few weeks."

It comes as he was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the European Tour in recognition of his Open Championship victory.

The 32-year-old currently leads the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, having also won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

He was presented with his Honorary Life Membership by European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth today.

Lowry said: “It is pretty cool to receive this award. When you start playing golf when you're a kid you don't know how good you can be, or even when you start playing as a pro. I didn't know that I would get to this day so it's pretty cool.

“I've obviously joined a nice list of names, which is pretty good as well. My heart lies with the European Tour. I'll always be a member. I love coming back and I love playing in events like this. So it's an extreme privilege to receive this.”

Lowry, who has won five times on the European Tour, becomes the 56th player to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of the European Tour.