Lowry to seek fast start to Ryder Cup qualifying race in Saudi Arabia

Shane Lowry and caddie Brian Martin in Saudi Arabia last year.

Open champion Shane Lowry will join fellow major winners Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in February’s Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers looking to boost his chances of making his Ryder Cup debut.

“I really do want to get off to a fast start in 2021 and try and secure my place in the team early if possible,” said Lowry, who joins world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and defending champion Graeme McDowell at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club from February 4-7.

“I can’t imagine how stressful it will be if I am outside qualifying for the team as we get closer to the final qualifying events. The Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers is going to be huge week for us all in terms of the mega strength of field and world ranking points available with so many of the world’s top ranked playing, so a decent finish is going to make a major impact on our qualification chances.” 

Five-time Major champion Phil Mickelson returns for a second consecutive year while 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed plays for a third time.

The men’s event will be Saudi Arabia’s third professional golf tournament in the space of three months. The Kingdom is due to host two back-to-back world-class debut tournaments this month —  the $1 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF taking from November 12-15 and the $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International from November 17-19.