Shane Lowry

Shane Lowry (born April 2, 1987) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. His notable achievements include winning the 2019 Open Championship, the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009 and the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Lowry grew up in Clara, County Offaly. He is the son of Brendan Lowry, who won the 1982 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final with the Offaly county football team.

Tied to soccer

Shane Lowry remained connected to Offaly throughout his golf career, saying in 2021, "But every time I have the opportunity to go to O'Connor Park and watch Offaly play, I do, and I'm the first to mourn when they lose and I'm sitting in the stands."

Lowry learned golf at an early age at Esker Hills Golf Club, where he also began his amateur career. He attended Athlone Institute of Technology as a scholarship student for the Higher Certificate in Sport and Recreation.

Best amateur round on European Tour

While still an amateur, he won the Irish Open at County Louth Golf Club on the European Tour in May 2009 by defeating Robert Rock on the third hole of a sudden death playoff. The victory in his Tour debut made him only the third amateur to win on the European Tour, following Danny Lee in the 2009 season and Pablo Martín in 2007. Lowry played the lowest round ever by an amateur on Tour with 62 strokes. He led from the second round.

Entry into world rankings

The victory moved him into 168th place in the Official World Amateur Rankings and tied him for sixth place in the World Amateur Rankings for his career. Walker Cup captain Colin Dagleish called the win "fairytale" and added, "You have to say Shane's win was the biggest (of the three amateur wins). To win your own National Open is pretty special. It was really incredible."

The victory was only the second home win since 1982 and the first since Pádraig Harrington in 2007. Harrington himself was also full of praise, "It's fabulous for Irish golf. It's a rarity for an amateur to win, and it's a rarity for an Irish player to win the Irish Open. So it's a big deal in a lot of ways. It was very impressive."

Decision to pursue professional career

The week after his Irish Open triumph, Lowry decided to turn pro, which meant he missed the opportunity to play in the Walker Cup in September 2009. He made his professional debut on May 28 at the European Open, where he shot 78 in the first round and finished the first day near the bottom of the field, only to miss the cut after a second-round 73.

Lowry missed the first three cuts of his professional career, but had his first payday on July 5 when he finished 50th at the Open de France Alstom. His best professional result came in 2009 in November when he finished 3rd in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan. In January 2010, Lowry finished fourth at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, moving him into the top-100 of the Official World Rankings.

Course record set

In June 2010, Lowry qualified for his first major championship, the Open Championship at St. Andrews. During qualifying, Lowry set Nick Faldo's course record at Sunningdale when he played a 62. Lowry made the cut at St. Andrews and finished in an excellent 37th place.

At the Portugal Masters in October 2012, Lowry won for the first time as a professional. With a round of 67, he shared the lead with England's Ross Fisher, who made a bogey on the final hole after missing a four-foot putt. The victory moved Lowry back into the top 100 of the official world rankings and qualified him for the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Runner-up at BMW PGA Championship

In 2014, Lowry finished second at the BMW PGA Championship in May and later tied for ninth at the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake), his best finish at a major.

In August 2015, Lowry won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in the United States at Firestone in Akron, Ohio, by two strokes over runner-up Bubba Watson. Lowry accepted membership on the PGA Tour for the 2015/16 season.

At the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, Lowry carded a third-round 65 (-5) for a 203 (-7) and a four-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson and Andrew Landry for the 54-hole round. The 65 was Lowry's best round of his career at a Major Championship. Due to weather delays on Thursday, the third round was not completed until early Sunday, and Lowry extended his lead from two to four strokes with two birdies in the remaining four holes.

Chance to win squandered

He battled for the title in the final round and was within one stroke of Dustin Johnson after 12 holes before three consecutive bogeys on holes 14, 15 and 16 ended his chances. He finished the tournament in second place with a score of 76 strokes.

Lowry did not win on the European Tour from 2016 to 2018, but finished second at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in 2017 and second at the Andalucía Valderrama Masters in 2018.

Lowry began the 2018/19 season with partial status after finishing 140th in the FedEx Cup.

Trailed by four strokes

In January 2019, Lowry won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship by one stroke over Richard Sterne. He led by 3 strokes after three rounds, but was at two over par after 11 holes of his final round and fell 4 strokes behind Sterne. However, he finished with 3 birdies in his final 7 holes, while Sterne had two bogeys, giving Lowry the win.

In July, he shared the 36-hole lead at the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush after shooting 67 in each of the opening rounds. He was tied with J.B. Holmes at eight under. Lowry set a new course record with a round of 63 and led by four strokes at the end of the third round. He won the tournament by six strokes over Tommy Fleetwood.

Ryder Cup participation in 2021

In September 2021, Lowry played on the European team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19-9, and Lowry lost his Sunday singles match to Patrick Cantlay, 1-2-0.

In February 2022, Lowry finished second in the Honda Classic. Sepp Straka scored a birdie on the final hole to finish one stroke ahead. In April, Lowry was in the lead in the final round of the RBC Heritage, but a double bogey on the back nine put him one stroke back in a playoff between Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth.

McIlroy defeated

In September, Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club. He played a closing round of 65 after the tournament was shortened to 54 holes. He beat Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm (who played a 62 in the final round) by one stroke for his sixth European Tour victory.

Lowry married Wendy Honner in 2016 and has two daughters. He often wears black and white attire at tournaments, matching the colors of his hometown Gaelic sports club. He is a lifelong Manchester United supporter.

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