Imagine teeing it up at The Open, at home, having never won a major or even been in contention in the previous 26 events you played in. The Open is making a return to your island after a 68-year absence. Not only do you win it, you practically lap the field. That evening you find yourself celebrating in the local pub, drinking from the Claret Jug, with your family, your friends and your longtime caddie by your side, singing and dancing until the early hours. Shane Lowry need not imagine it, he was the protagonist. Images of his all-night celebrations are now part of golfing folklore. In 2019, the Irishman produced one of the greatest stories in the history of Irish golf.
When Shane made a hole-in-one on the world’s most famous par 3, he high-fived practically everyone who was lucky enough to witness it as he made his way to pick his ball out of the hole. Lowry is a member of the select club of 14 players to have holed out from the tee on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass at The Players Championship and his reaction that day sums up his character; he is a happy-go-lucky man of the people.
His experience at the recent Olympic Games in Paris is a reflection of the scale of Shane Lowry’s renown in Ireland. He was granted the honour of being a flagbearer for his country, carrying the famous tricolour alongside Sarah Lavin at the opening ceremony. His seven victories on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour adorn the resumé of a player who has won the hearts of his people.
Such is the character of Lowry, that at last year’s Ryder Cup in Italy he gave one of the marshalls a vehement dressing down after the official had asked the fans to be silent — a little too loudly in the player’s opinion! He became the first man in eight years to eagle the 14th at Augusta and bagged his first ever albatross on the 6th hole of Torrey Pines’ famous South Course. All these fireworks came in the last 11 months, and he had the top of the leaderboard to himself when he teed it up on Saturday at The Open in July. However, some extraordinary weather at Royal Troon robbed the Irishman of the chance of being “Champion Golfer of the Year” for the second time the following day.
Shane Lowry’s first appearance at the ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid is a hugely significant addition to an already-impressive field. The world number 29 honed his short game at the age of 13 on the pitch and putt course where he first picked up a club in his native Clara, in county Offaly. Now one of the very best players in the world around the greens, he will have plenty of opportunities to show off his skills at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. If you have the chance to come to the tournament from 26 to 29 September, do not hesitate to spend some time watching the Irishman ply his trade. He will not let you down.
