Shane Lowry finished tied-third and two strokes behind winner Vincent Norrman after an impressive week at the Irish Open; Lowry will attempt to defend his BMW PGA Championship title ahead of appearing for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup this month
Last Updated: 11/09/23 1:12pm
Shane Lowry believes his game is heading in the right direction ahead of the Ryder Cup after responding to doubters over his captain’s pick by impressing at the Horizon Irish Open.
Lowry is without a victory since last September’s BMW PGA Championship and experienced a disappointing campaign on the PGA Tour, where he failed to qualify for the season-ending FedExCup playoffs.
The Irishman missed the cut on his return to DP World Tour action at the D+D Real Czech Masters, raising further concerns over his form, although Lowry was still named as one of Luke Donald’s six captain’s picks to complete Team Europe’s line-up.
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Hear from the six players that Ryder Cup Team Europe captain Luke Donald has selected as his captain’s picks to play against the USA in Rome later this month
Lowry then bounced back to threaten a home victory at the K Club on Sunday, where a final-round 68 left him tied-third – his best finish of the year – and two strokes behind winner Vincent Norrman.
“It’s hard but there’s so many positives to take away from the week,” Lowry said. “Irish Opens are tournaments that are generally a struggle in the past and I felt like I was great out there all week.
Shane Lowry registered his best performance of the year with a tied-third finish at the Horizon Irish Open
“Played some great golf. Did everything really well. It’s probably one of the best tournaments I’ve played this year so far and that’s kind of nice. Exciting few weeks of golf ahead of me now and this is a great way to start and hopefully I can build on it from here.”
Lowry will join his Ryder Cup team-mates in making a scouting mission to Marco Simone Golf Club this week, ahead of the biennial contest taking place in Rome from September 29-October 2, before attempting to defend his BMW PGA title at Wentworth from Thursday.
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Europe’s Ryder Cup stars are all in action at the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event of the DP World Tour calendar, with extended coverage live on Sky Sports Golf
“It has been a good week for me and a step in the right direction,” Lowry added. “Hopefully I’ll be back to defend my title at Wentworth, which is exciting as well. I have an exciting month of golf ahead of me.
“It’s going to be exciting to all come together [for Rome trip]. Every team member is there and all the caddies and vice captains and captains, there will be a few staff.
“There’s going to be a lot of people there and it will kind of get the juices flowing for a couple weeks’ time. I’ve never actually seen the course. Looking forward to seeing it!”
Beem: ‘Top performance’ from Lowry
Lowry will make a second consecutive appearance for Team Europe this month, having beaten the likes of Adrian Meronk – third in the DP World Tour rankings and a winner at the Ryder Cup venue this year – to a captain’s pick.
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Relive the moment Shane Lowry holed a dramatic putt to clinch a point for Europe during the 2021 contest at Whistling Straits
The former Open champion had been without a worldwide top-10 since February prior to his strong display in Ireland, with Sky Sports’ Rich Beem impressed by Lowry’s performance.
“Job well done and mission accomplished,” Beem told Sky Sports. “I think he was going out there with a chip on his shoulder because he knew he had some detractors.
Could Shane Lowry help Team Europe regain the Ryder Cup this month
“He knew has had some voices saying ‘why did they pick Shane Lowry?’ Well, this is why! Because Lowry is a gamer and a heck of a player.
“We talked at the beginning of the week how he didn’t have but one top 10 (finish this season) – but he had eight top 20 [finishes] and three of those were in majors. You’re not a big-time player unless you’re doing that! That was a top performance.”
Watch the BMW PGA Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 8.30am ahead of full coverage from midday on Sky Sports Golf.
Live coverage from the opening day of the Ryder Cup begins on Friday September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP Tour, Ryder Cup and more with NOW.