Harrington urges Lowry to wait
Triple major winner Padraig Harrington has urged Shane Lowry to have enough self-belief to put the pro game on hold and play September’s Walker Cup.
Ireland’s greatest player teed it up in three Walker Cup matches between 1991 and 1995 before grabbing his card at the Q-School.
Shane Lowry holes out.But Lowry - now 167th in the world rankings ahead of Ryder Cup skipper Colin Montgomerie and Paul McGinley - does not have to go through that agony following his amazing win.
He will be exempt on the European Tour until the end of 2011 from the moment he decides to play for pay.
And Harrington insists that Lowry can still line up big sponsorship contracts to kick in the day after the Walker Cup on September 14 and enjoy the thrill of a lifetime.
Harrington said: “With a two year exemption he has plenty of time, there’s no rush. Looking back on my career, I have won three majors and I still rate playing three Walker Cups very highly on my achievements and a big mainstay of my career.
“Why does he need to play professional golf for the next three months? He is going to have the next 28 years at least.”
Lowry is eligible for the $8 million WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone from August 2-5 if he turns professional over the next few months.
With no cut, the player finishing last in the 80-strong field gets a handsome cheque but Harrington dismissed that as a reason to turn pro now.
He said: “There is no financial motive to do it tomorrow, If he believes he is good enough, and winning the Irish Open says he is good enough, he ain’t going to be worried about turning up for $40,000 last place at Bridgestone.
“He has to believe in himself and turning pro is not believing in yourself. Staying and playing the Walker Cup and trusting that your game will be as good from September onwards is believing in yourself.
“If you argue the financial incentives, that doesn’t hold up, because in the time it takes to sign the professional contracts anyway, he’d be better off staying amateur and not competing with the pros until his contracts are signed. He could have everything ready to go the day after the Walker Cup.”
Harrington was still in his car, amazed he had missed the cut in the Irish Open, as Lowry tore the course apart on Friday afternoon with a scandalous 62.
He was thrilled for the sponsors that the Offaly ace came through to win and knows how tough that can be after finally breaking his hoodoo at the 12th attempt at Adare in 2007
The first home winner of the Irish Open for 25 years that time, Harrington said: “It was fabulous for Irish golf and the sponsors and keeps everyone happy. You only have to look at fact it is such a rarity for an amateur to win, such a rarity for an Irish player to win an Irish Open, on a lot of fronts it is a big deal.
“I think you have to play in it a few years to know the enormity of winning an Irish Open. I think to win a European Tour event is a big deal and the fact it was in Ireland made it more exciting.
“But whether it was in Ireland or anywhere else it’s a big event and big tournament and quality event. It was a big field, not a weak field or anything like that.
“I was watching betting and with six holes to go the punters had dropped him out of it, he wasn’t first or second favourite. But he came back in to it, fair play to him.
“He made it hard for himself obviously missing on the 72nd hole. Again, Rock was probably the favourite going into play-off but he overcame a lot of challenges which was nice to see.
“He has a lot of big decisions to make and it would be hard to make them with a clear head. What would I do if I was him? I can’t fully appreciate his circumstances and he can’t fully understand probably being a professional.
“If was 22 years of age, I don’t know what I would do. You’ve only limited experience at that stage.
“At 37 years of age looking back I’d say he will have 28 years to play on the regular tour, three months to play as an amateur.”