Shane Lowry: I'd give anything to be the first Irish golfer to win The Masters
GREEN JACKET FOR IRELAND?: Shane Lowry would give anything to be the first Irish golfer to win the The Masters. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.
Shane Lowry doesn’t hide his desire.
The Masters is his favorite tournament of the year and the one at the top of his list to win. Finishing third in 2022 was nice, but it’s not what he comes to Augusta to achieve.
“Nobody remembers who finished third at the Masters,” said Lowry on Monday after playing the back nine.
“In 20 years' time, finishing third in the Masters doesn’t get you back in those gates. First does though, so that’s the main goal.”
Lowry has been trending favorably at Augusta since winning the Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush. He’s posted four consecutive top-25 finishes, including that T3 two years ago and a T16 last year after pushing into the top five at one point on Sunday.
Naturally, he harbours high hopes coming back with a run of good form that includes a T4 and T3 on the PGA Tour’s Florida swing last month.
“There’s no two ways of looking at it – I am playing nicely, and I’m very happy where my game is at,” he said.
“But, like I said, there’s no God-given right to go out here and compete and play well. So you just have to do everything you think is right, and go out there Thursday and give it everything.
"I’ll prepare as best I can over the next few days. Yes, my results have been nice of late. I’ll go out there and give it everything I have from Thursday to Sunday and hope it’s good enough.”
Through 87 Masters, no Irish golfer has finished good enough to don the green jacket. Rory McIlroy and Lowry have had chances but not quite enough to win the only major championship that has eluded the Irish.
“There’s a lot standing between that and me right now,” said Lowry.
“I try not think about things like that, because obviously, it would be a huge achievement. It’s something that I’ve thought about a little bit over the last number of years and I’d give anything to be that person.
“Yeah, I have a 50-50 chance (to be the first Irish winner this week). I certainly hope if it’s not him it’s me … er, I hope if it’s not me it’s him.”
Lowry has a knack for showing up on the big stages, with wins in a major, WGC and the DP World Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. But he’s not one to place himself in the category of the favorites when they check up at venues like Augusta National.
“I think it’s hard to look past the top players in the world. You know, am I in the next category? Possibly. But I’m certainly not here to make up the numbers. I’m here to compete, and that’s what I do every week, and it’s what I live for. I live for weeks like this and it’s the reason I get out of bed in the morning.
"So yeah, I’m very happy to be here and I look forward to the challenges ahead. But you know, if you start looking at Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy, it’s hard to look past those players but I’ll do my best.”
Considering the recent weather in Ireland, Lowry noted that his full-time move from Ireland to south Florida in 2018 has proven to be a boon for his career and preparation for weeks like this.
“The weather’s not great at home and if you were in Ireland for the last week trying to prepare for the Masters, I can’t imagine it would be a great place to be,” he said.
“Playing in Jupiter (Florida) last week and playing The Grove, it had the greens running at 14 last week. It’s different grass, it’s Bermuda, but it definitely helps to get ready and you come here you’re not scared of what you’re putting on.
“I just think in general it was important to my career to move. I wouldn’t say that I really wanted to fully do, but I felt like I had to and luckily Wendy was okay with it.
"We have a lovely life down in Florida, but it’s not Ireland and we do miss home at times. … Any job certain things come along and you have to leave home to do it and that’s what we did.”
The routines Lowry has established in recent trips to Augusta have become entrenched with each decent performance. It’s not a formula he considered messing with in preparing for a course that requires such exacting precision to get the most out of each round.
“I’ve done the same things for the last few years I’ve come here – I’ve come out here at the same time on a Sunday and do the same things on Sunday evening and do the same things for the rest of the week,” he said.
“I have a separate house for me and my family and another house for everyone else. Yeah, I hang out in that house a little bit, but when it’s time to go home it’s time to go home. Everyone’s getting giddy and talking about the tournament, I know it’s time to go home.
"Especially is you shoot a couple good scores early, you don’t want too many people around you talking about you winning the Masters. You just want to be in your own space.
“Yeah, I’ve figured it out. Not only is this my favourite week of the year, but last week is one of my favourite weeks preparing for this. I just love this and this is why I do it. Sometimes I’ll be hard on myself and find it hard to get up for the smaller events. But I certainly do get up for events like this.”
Does he have what it takes to win the green jacket at age 37?
“I don’t know, to be honest, because I have never done it,” he said. “If I am sitting back in 20 years’ time at the end of my career I will be able to tell you that. I certainly love coming here. I love competing here. It is probably my favourite tournament of the year.
"It is one I would most like to win over everything and I am comfortable driving through the gates now, the aura about the place is not there as much as it used to be. I know when it comes to Thursday, I will just be all business and try and do the best I can.”
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