'Tough to listen to' - Shane Lowry feels for ordinary golfer in LIV era

2024 Amgen Irish Open Launch With Amgen Golf Ambassador Shane Lowry. Pic Credit: Ryan Byrne

Shane Lowry has won tens of millions playing golf — €21m on the DP World Tour and $17m in the US, even if those figures overlap here and there.

So it’s understandable he feels for the common or garden golfer when they listen to the latest LIV Golf signing say they took the Saudi cash to put food on the table or to “grow the game”.

The 38-year-old Offaly man remains as grounded as ever as he reflects on golf’s civil war and while he was not altogether surprised to see Jon Rahm make the leap to LIV Golf — "Obviously, there's no smoke without fire, so we all thought, 'he must be going’” — he knows the game’s top stars have sold their souls to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and have no choice but to spout the LIV Golf propaganda.

Speaking at a press briefing at Amgen headquarters to confirm he’ll be gunning for Amgen Irish Open glory at Royal County Down next September, Lowry tried his best not to throw the likes of Rahm under the bus but failed.

“I think what Jon said about growing the game and stuff that's obviously what they have to say,” Lowry said. “They've signed on the dotted line. They've been told by the communications team that this is what you say when you're asked this and you have no other choice really because they own you now.” 

He added: “I don't know if it's been damaging (to golf’s image) but people who have spent their hard-earned money going out to join a golf club and buy golf clubs and play golf for the weekend, it's tough for them to listen to the guy who's already worth whatever say he has to do this to put food on the table for his wife and kids.” 

He still reckons Rahm will qualify for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York provided he retains his DP World Tour membership.

He also hopes “that it all irons itself out soon” when it comes to the PGA Tour’s talks with the PIF but he’s not ready to follow Viktor Hovland and blast the top brass for doing a secret deal with the Saudis.

The Norwegian called the actions of the leadership a show of “arrogance” but Lowry claims not to know enough about high finance to dismiss Jay Monahan and Co so vehemently.

"I make a great living doing what we do, playing the game I love for a living, and I'm not going to sit here and criticise the guys in charge of the game because I'm very fortunate to have the life I have," said Lowry, who has high hopes for the Irish Open after Amgen took on the title sponsorship following their recent $27.8 billion takeover of Horizon Therapeutics. 

"Do I think they've been amazing? No, probably not. But I'm not going to criticise them because I think they couldn't foresee this coming. It was something that just happened. I don't really know. 

"A lot of players have a lot of opinions on the leadership of the tour. But I don't consider myself clever enough to be able to comment on running a billion-dollar organisation.” 

As for the Amgen Irish Open, he believes a September date, the week before the BMW PGA at Wentworth, is perfect given the Indian summers Ireland often enjoys at that time of year. 

"And I think it says a lot about what the tournament has been like the last couple of years and how much they can feel they can grow it as well. So I think I think it's got a huge potential.” 

Lowry has got big plans for 2024, even if he is not yet in the big Signature Events after a mixed 2023, where the Ryder Cup win was his highlight, saw him finish outside the all-important top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings who are exempt.

He’s still hugely ambitious, but when it comes to golf’s hot-button topics, such as the ball rollback the R&A and the USGA plan to implement for the elite game in January 2028 and for the recreational golfer in 2030, he’s not totally convinced.

"I think as long as they don't keep extending golf courses, it'll be fine," he said. "The one thing I've always said about it is they're trying to make the game harder, make the ball go shorter, make the courses longer, but they're always giving out about us playing slowly. So you know, you can't have it both ways. 

"Like if we play Augusta now with the rollback ball, it's going to take six hours to play a round of golf. So, what do you do there? That's just how I feel about it.” 

He reckons the driver head is what needs addressing but wonders what the ordinary Joe (and Mary) will make of it all.

"Golf is a hard game,” he said. “There are about 200 players in the world who are really good at it, and then it goes right down to your 18 handicappers. It's a hard game to play. I just think if you keep making it harder, people might stop playing.”