Lowry: I am starting to get really jealous of Rory

Shane Lowry says a fear of playing second fiddle has always driven him, even in his amateur days.

Mon, 22 Sep, 2025 - 18:11

Cian Locke

Shane Lowry admits to jealousy of Ryder Cup colleague Rory McIlroy.

“I said to him the other day, I am starting to get really jealous,” Lowry told the Guardian. “I also said to him that I hope Irish people realise how lucky they are to have Rory at that level, coming back to play the Irish Open every year.

“He says: ‘Yeah, but how lucky are we to have that support?’ I was very jealous of the Masters, I was very jealous that Irish Open Sunday. I am happy for him, of course I am, but I want to achieve stuff myself.

“I want it so badly. I want everything, I want to achieve it all. If I was to pack it all in now, would I be happy with what I have? I have had a pretty good career. But do I want more? Absolutely. That is the reason to get up in the morning.”

Lowry says a fear of playing second fiddle has always driven him, even in his amateur days.

“I had always looked at others as being better than me. That helped me. I wouldn’t say I played with a chip on my shoulder, but I played with that fear of not being good enough.”

A place among the game's elite hasn't diminished that old nagging feeling.

"You play with a fear of failure. The reason I get up and work every day is because I am afraid to fail. A fear of not being good enough. I don’t go to practise because I think I am good enough. I never play with loads of confidence.

“I don’t think I ever realised how good I was and I was still so young. Enter tournament, play, if I didn’t win I just moved on to the next week. Then I get an invite to Baltray in 2009 and bang, there you go.”

For Lowry, Ryder Cups are all about winning.

“People say how great it is to make the team and all that, but there is no point in going then getting the shit beaten out of you. You want to go and win. It’s the same as qualifying for the Masters; there’s no point doing that then missing the cut.

“This is an opportunity. A lot of people dwell on negatives; how tough it will be, how bad the crowd might be. How amazing an opportunity do we have here? We could write ourselves in history. I have won an Open, a Ryder Cup, my national open. If I was to add this to it, Jesus … I am a very lucky person to achieve what I have so far, but adding this would be amazing.”