Lowry still hungry for big-time wins as the career clock starts to tick louder

Shane Lowry would love to win the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down next September, but he’s got a lot to look forward to before then, with the four Majors and the Olympic Games in Paris just five of the big events on his radar.

MORE TO COME: Shane Lowry would love to win the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down next September, but he’s got a lot to look forward to before then, with the four Majors and the Olympic Games in Paris just five of the big events on his radar. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy have been joined at the hip for the past few years and the big Offaly man is prepared to do more than just watch his pal’s back during a Ryder Cup car park fracas.

The sight of the Lowry bundling an incensed McIlroy into a courtesy car in Rome is one of the abiding memories of 2023.

They fell out over the Holywood star’s bitter split from Horizon Sports when they were both members of that stable. But since moving to Florida, they have become firm friends and while Lowry has high hopes for what remains of his career as an elite golfer, he is convinced McIlroy’s best golf may well lie ahead.

“Obviously, I spend a lot of time with Rory and I don't really talk too much about it, to be honest, because I don't want to bring it up,” Lowry said of McIlroy’s near decade-long major drought.

“It's obviously hard for him. It's been a long time since he won that PGA in Valhalla. But I guess it just gets back to what I say — the only thing you can do is put in the work.

“If you put in the work leading up to it, you just have to let yourself be then. Maybe he's not been able to do that recently. Like, I'm sure he'll be fine. And if wins one, will he win more? Probably. It's just between The Open in July and the Masters; it's such a long build-up to the Masters; I think it's just hard, and probably it doesn't get any easier.

“But I'm sure he's going to be okay. Rory is only 34. The way he lives his life and what he does, he's certainly nowhere near finished yet. He's still one of the best players in the world and I think I think his best stuff could be still ahead of him as well. It really could.” 

Lowry will turn 37 ten days before the Masters next year and he’s well aware that his own career will not last forever.

He’s won the Irish Open as an amateur, a World Golf Championship, The Open on Irish soil and played on a winning Ryder Cup team. But he wants more.

By his own admission, 2023 was a disappointing year, notwithstanding that Ryder Cup win in Rome.

Despite all his achievements and the riches that have come his way, he insists he’s as ambitious as ever and believes he has the guts of another decade to add to his haul of big titles.

“I’m 37 next year,” he said at Amgen headquarters as he promoted their takeover of the Irish Open sponsorship from Horizon Therapeutics until 2027. “Not too many golfers played great in their 40s. I’m starting my 16th season on tour if you include 2009.

“It’s been a decent one (career) so far, but I feel in my head if I can get to 45, still very competitive, I’d be very happy. Still nine years to go. It does nothing only motivate me. I’m definitely more motivated than I’ve ever been going into a New Year.” 

Achieving most of your golfing dreams can lead to complacency, but Lowry remains hardworking and ambitious.

“Just the carrot dangling of the big stuff that you could win in the future,” he said of what motivates him to hit the practice ground. “The smaller events that I play don't motivate me as much as they probably should do. But the big events motivate me.— the majors, obviously The Players, the Olympics. Obviously an Irish Open. I'm very lucky to have won an Irish Open already but if I won one as a pro as well, that'd be very, very special.” 

He’d love to win the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down next September, but he’s got a lot to look forward to before then, with the four Majors and the Olympic Games in Paris just five of the big events on his radar.

His first goal is to work his way into the PGA Tour’s eight Signature Events in 2024 but having failed to make the top 50 in the FedExCup rankings who are exempt for those megabucks tournaments, he will be relying on invitations and his own performances to clinch places in those fields.

As a result, he’s been forced to start 2024 in The American Express at La Quinta rather than the Dubai Desert Classic, and he’ll be looking for some big results to ensure he is playing at the likes of Pebble Beach, Riviera, Bay Hill and Muirfield Village next year.

“I have to focus on the PGA Tour early on in the year because the tournaments that I'm playing are basically half the FedEx Cup points — not quite half, I think it's 500 if you win one of them, and it's 700 for the Signature Events,” he said. “So when I play, I need to play well.” 

He’ll certainly have to putt better than he did earlier this year, especially at Augusta National where he was ranked third from tee to green and near the back of the field with the blade.

“I don't even know what to say, but I putt really badly; it was probably the worst putting week I've ever had,” he said of a week where he finished 16th and knows he might have had a chance to win had a few putts dropped.

Having finished third at Augusta in 2022, he believes he can give himself a chance of donning that green jacket but he knows he won’t have unlimited chances.

“The clock is obviously ticking, I’ve only got a few more left,” he admitted. “I’ll just prepare as well as I can for that and do everything I can between now and the second week in April, so I can stand on the first tee and give it a go,” he said.

“I did that this year, and I stood up from the first day, and I played unbelievable golf and just couldn’t get the ball in the hole. I remember missing a three-footer for birdie on the first green, and all of a sudden, it was a struggle on the greens for the rest of the week.” 

As for the Olympics, he’s dreaming of a podium finish should he qualify for Paris.

“I know how much Olympic medals mean in this country, and I think that would just be something else like the Ryder Cup was this year,” he said. “Obviously a gold medal would be amazing, but a medal in general would be great.” 

Should he win another Major or an Olympic medal, he’d add considerably to the gate receipts when Royal County Down hosts the Amgen Irish Open in September.

“I'm very lucky to have won an Irish Open already, but if I won one as a pro as well, that'd be very, very special,” he said, reflecting on his third-place finish at The K Club this year. “That was very exciting and I loved it,” he said.

“The crowd was amazing. And I loved going around the back nine of The K Club on Sunday with a bit of a chance to win the Irish Open. It was special. So you know if I could do that in Royal Co Down again, it'd be cool. But yeah, the big events motivate me a lot.”