Shane Lowry Defends His Ryder Cup Spot, Says Criticism 'Didn't Sit Very Well With Me'
SURREY, England — Shane Lowry doesn’t need to apologize or explain why European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald picked him.
Just ask the burly Irishman.
On Tuesday, at the defending champion's press conference at the BMW PGA Championship, the 36-year-old was clear in his position that he was one of the top 12 players in Europe, enough said.
“I know there was a little bit about that last week and me, and—need to be careful here, didn't sit very well with me to be honest,” Lowry said. “I didn't feel like I had to go out and prove anything to anyone last week. The Irish Open is important to me and a tournament I wanted to play well in.”
Shane Lowry finished T3 at the Irish Open last week, his best finish all year coming on the heels of being selected for the Ryder Cup.
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Lowry’s third-place finish last week at The K Club was his first top 10 on the DP World Tour since winning the BMW last year and his first since a T5 in February at the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.
“If I shut a few people up, so be it, but I wasn't trying to do that last week,” Lowry said. “I wasn't trying to finish third last week. I was trying to win last week. So last week was disappointing for me.”
Lowry, like many that were up on the leaderboard, were surprised that Vincent Norrman won.
Now, as he recalls coming down the stretch last year and beating Jon Rahm and good friend Rory McIlroy, Lowry hopes to build on last week's success and repeat this week.
“Obviously this week is the biggest event on the DP World schedule, so this in its own right is something that you want to look at and try and win again,” Lowry said. “And a lot of what I've done over the next few weeks is gearing towards Rome.”
Rome is in the back of everyone’s mind as the Europeans are trying to wash the bad taste out of their mouths from the 19-9 shellacking they experienced at Whistling Straits.
Lowry said the short trip to Rome with the 12 players, their caddies, captain, and vice captains was amazing and worth the time.
All along, Donald has said he wanted to get everyone together and on the same page.
“We had a dinner last night and had a team meeting,” Lowery said. “It was one of those days that we got a lot done yesterday that we don't need to do in two weeks. Any hour you can save the week of the Ryder Cup is needed, so yeah, a very worthwhile exercise yesterday.”
One of the early areas of discussion, both by players and photos on social media, is the thickness of the rough.
The Irishman proudly said he lost only one ball in their practice round and while it’s hard to believe losing a ball with 40,000 fans will be an issue, playing out of the brutal rough may be a deciding factor.
Lowry believes the rough is no different than what you see at the U.S. Open, but at the same time believes wandering too far off the fairway may be problematic.
“I think, look, they tried like the Americans do, when they get their home Ryder Cup, they try and setup the golf course to suit them and I think the vice captains are trying to set up the golf course to suit us,” Lowry said. “If you hit a good driver and second shot down the fairway—that's what golf's about. That's how I see it.”
With a combination of eight veterans and four rookies, Lowry sees the European Team in transition but in a good way.
And while his goal winning the Cup back after Wisconsin is paramount, he sees his role not just as one of a player but as a mentor.
“I'm not going to be afraid of anyone that comes to stand on the first tee in two weeks' time,” Lowry said. “I think I'll be good for the rookies. I think I'll be good for team morale or in the team room. I think I'll be passionate. I'll show my emotions. I'll enjoy myself.”