Shane Lowry on Irish rugby, team sport, and playing with Rory McIlroy

The Ryder Cup is hardwired into Lowry's makeup. Team sport is part of his DNA. His father and uncles are steeped in Offaly lore. This is who he is

PLAYING PARTNERS? Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy of Europe on the first green during a practice round before the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

A joint-record of nine different nationalities are represented on Team Europe this year but from the moment the first group emerge for their practice round, one thing becomes clear: This is house Rory.

Marco Simone golf course owner Lavinia Biagiotti has previously heralded him as her hero. Fans gathered to watch the opening practice round duly rolled out a hero’s welcome. McIlroy emerged to a huge roar at the first tee in a group that also contained Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, and Sepp Straka.

‘Rory please,’ was the soundtrack of the day, as desperate autograph and selfie hunters relentlessly pleaded for his attention. Even the course marshals participated. The Ryder Cup veteran obliged where he could and then put on a show. There was an awesome 5-wood across water into the breeze that found the green at the par-4 5th and an electrifying chip on the 8th. He celebrated it vehemently, while Shane Lowry danced across the green, plucked the ball out of the hole and fired it into a nearby lake.

“It looked like me and Tommy were going to win the hole and then he chipped in from nowhere, so that was disappointing,” Lowry explained later. “We were just having a bit of fun out there.” 

That was obvious throughout. It is part of why he earned a captain’s pick. He is a good team-mate and makes his presence felt in the group. He raised two arms in the air for Fleetwood’s opening shot and maintained that energy over the course of their round.

It’s not the significant factor that swung Luke Donald’s decision though. That call was down to cold numbers. That is why the debate about his wild card spot was so frustrating. Former British Masters winner Richard Bland led the way when he argued Adrian Meronk’s form, including May’s Italian Open victory at this venue, meant he was more deserving.

“With my year that I've had, statistically it is better than some of the people that you were talking about that should have been picked ahead of me,” Lowry said when asked about the backlash.

“Statistics don't lie. That's the reason I'm here. Obviously, I showed the couple of weeks after that that I played some pretty good golf and to be honest, I feel like at the Irish Open and Wentworth I've played some of the best golf I've played all year.

“So I'm pretty happy where my game is at coming into this week. And I always feel coming in here that I can add a lot to the team not only on the golf course but in the team room and all of that.” 

How loud was that criticism? Loud enough to spoil his experience at The K Club anyway.

“I felt like at the Irish Open, what should have been an amazing few days after getting picked on the Ryder Cup team was kind of a bit of a downer for me because I had to kind of fight off all this negative talk in my head. But I did a good job of that.” 

This tournament is hardwired into his makeup. Team sport is part of his DNA. His father and uncles are steeped in Offaly lore. This is who he is.

“Obviously, team sports played a big part in my whole life growing up and I think it's where I get my competitiveness from, my dad and his brothers, my uncles.

"Growing up in that environment was pretty cool and I think a lot of it is what has got me to where I am today. I feel like I'm just myself. I don't try to be anyone else in the team room. I don't try to be anyone else when I'm here. I just be myself and that just happens to be what I am.” 

Lowry and McIlroy made time for more team sport last Saturday as they made the trip to the Stade de France for Ireland’s remarkable victory over South Africa. An amazing experience, but not one he will draw on for his own performance this week.

“Purely as a fan. I know a few of the players personally on the Irish team, so it was nice to see them out there competing at that level. I think we're very excited about our rugby team and our chances over the next few weeks and I'm all over that bandwagon.

“Hopefully I'll go back in a few weeks for maybe quarter-finals or semi-finals and hopefully more.” 

His captain has already clarified Tuesday’s practice pairings should not be taken as an indication of their wider plan. Nothing is set in stone. Some of that was determined by media duty.

Yet for Lowry, the prospect of teeing up alongside McIlroy once again remains immensely appealing.

“I think we would love to play together and we'd love to go out there at some stage. We probably feel like we didn't do ourselves justice in four-balls at Whistling Straits and I think we maybe would like the opportunity to go at it again and try and win a point this time.

“I honestly don't know what's going to happen on Friday or Saturday yet. We haven't been told. We're going to play together and we're going to play the next couple of days and I'm sure we'll find out soon.

“Look, anybody would want to play with Rory. He's one of the best players in the world. In my opinion he is in the top players of all time already and he's not even nearly finished. It would be nice to go out there with him.”