Lowry: "I am 33 for the next Ryder Cup and I need to start making a move"
ST. LOUIS, MO - August 11: Shane Lowry hits his tee shot on the 13th hole during the third round of the 100th PGA Championship held at Bellerive Golf Club on August 11, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America)
Shane Lowry admits he felt a pang of jealousy watching his European pals make mincemeat of the Americans at the Ryder Cup.
Having tasted the fare at golf’s top table, winning the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 2015 before the seeing US Open slip tantalisingly through his fingers the following summer, he knew he was good enough to be there.
He also knows that winning the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf with Paul Dunne this week could be just what he needs to winter well and bloom again in 2019.
At 31, he has no problem recognising that he isn’t getting any younger and with Pádraig Harrington the likely 2020 Ryder Cup captain, he’s acutely aware that now is the time to grasp his destiny with both hands.
“I feel like the last couple of years have been quite stale, going to the States, messing about with my schedule and playing too much, doing too much travel,” a relaxed Lowry confessed to the 'Inside the Ropes' podcast in Melbourne.
“I need to sit down in this off season with my coach, my manager, my caddie and my wife and people around me and try and set out the best schedule I can and try and make the next Ryder Cup team and try and compete and get back in all the majors.”
Ranked as high as 17th* in the world three years ago, he’s now 74th and knows that making Ryder Cup teams or even qualifying for Majors won’t be easy if he doesn’t get back into the world’s top 50 soon.
There are no World Ranking points on offer at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne’s sand belt, where he teams up with Dunne looking to “somewhat salvage” his season.
But there is a $7 million prize fund for the 28-nation field that’s missing almost all golf’s big names with just ten of the top 50 chasing the Walter Hagen Cup and a bumper $1.12 million payday per man.
With fourballs on Thursday and Saturday and foursomes on Friday and Sunday, Lowry and Dunne know they have the talent to bring Ireland its third World Cup win.
Failing to deliver on that potential is what hurts, as Lowry discovered watching Thomas Bjorn’s Europe bash the Americans in Paris.
“When you are a player and you feel like you are good enough to be there, you are watching it and there’s something deep down, a bit of jealousy in there,” he admitted.
“I am not old, but I am getting on. I am 33 for the next Ryder Cup and I need to start making a move and making one soon.
“That's a big goal of mine in my head and I think Padraig Harrington is going to be captain as well. So I will hopefully make that team. It would be great to play Ryder Cup and play under him as well.”
This week will be his third World Cup appearance in Australia and having tied for ninth with Graeme McDowell two years ago, he believes he and Dunne can “do something” in Melbourne, where rain and wind are forecast.
Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, England’s Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton and Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley are also looking to dethrone Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen.
“There are certain parts of my game and Paul's that if we can cement them together, I think we could do something this week,” Lowry said. “And I think the conditions are going to be somewhat favourable towards us.”
Contending for the US PGA, the Portugal Masters and the Andalucia Valderrama Masters gave Lowry a taste of something he’d missed — “the buzz of being in contention”.
But if his putting clicks, he sees Ireland being dangerous, especially given Dunne’s Harrington-esque, grittiness and magical touch on and around the greens.
As for the teams to beat, Lowry said: “Obviously the Aussies and I think England are going to be very good. Belgium are quite good and Denmark will be decent again.
“But it's a strange type of format. If we get off to a good start and get into the mix, I think we are very determined characters and very competitive and we could do something.”
2018 ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf, The Metropolitan Golf Club (Par 72)
First round tee times (from 0720 Thursday in Australia, brought forward 1hr due to forecast)
Fourballs
2020 (Wed) Gavin Kyle Green/Ben Leong (Mal); Scott Vincent/Benjamin Follett-Smith (Zim);
2035 Joost Luiten/Daan Huizing (Ned), Andrea Pavan/Renato Paratore (Ita);
2050 Mikko Korhonen/Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Alexander Bjork/Joakim Lagergren (Swe);
2105 Shane Lowry/Paul Dunne (Ire), Alexander Levy/Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra);
2120 Adrian Otaegui/Jorge Campillo (Esp), Stuart Manley/Bradley Dredge (Wal);
2135 Adam Hadwin/Nick Taylor (Can), Ryan Fox/Mark Brown (NZ);
2150 Jhonattan Vegas/Joseph Naffah (Ven), Dylan Frittelli/Erik van Rooyen (RSA);
2205 Russell Knox/Martin Laird (Sco), Abraham Ancer/Roberto Diaz (Mex);
2220 Martin Kaymer/Max Kieffer (Ger), Thomas Pieters/Thomas Detry (Bel)
2235 Peter Karmis/Alexander Tranacher (Gre), Kiradech Aphibarnrat/Prom Meesawat (Tha);
2250 Satoshi Kodaira/Hideto Tanihara (Jpn), Anirban Lahiri/Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind);
2305 Byeong Hun An/Si Woo Kim (Kor), Haotong Li/Ashun Wu (Chn)
0020 Tyrrell Hatton/Ian Poulter (Eng), Thorbjorn Olesen/Soren Kjeldsen (Den)
0035 Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith (Aus), Kyle Stanley/Matt Kuchar (USA).
*An earlier version of this story mistakenly said he was 21st
