Irish Open Champion Shane Lowry Enjoys Opportunity to Play at the Irish Open | Golf news

“As long as the tournament went on, I would always be here. And I’m here now, so I could play well.”

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Shane Lowry is delighted to have the opportunity to compete in the Irish Open at Galgorm Castle, just 30 miles from the scene of his epic Open victory at Royal Portrush last year.

Shane Lowry is the star of this week’s Irish Open at Galgorm Castle, just 30 miles from Royal Portrush, but the atmosphere will be very different from when he was crowned Open champion last year.

Lowry looks forward to competing in his hometown for the first time since his memorable six-shot Open win, and is happy to have the opportunity after the tournament shifted from Mount Juliet to Galgorm Castle.

Lowry insisted that he would always make the trip to Galgorm

The 33-year-old insisted he did not consider staying home in Florida and missing the event he first won as a fan in 2009, and Lowry is satisfied with the strict health and safety protocols implemented by the European Tour since he turned pro. . golf returned after the coronavirus shutdown.

“I was very excited to go to Mount Juliet this year as an Open champion and play in the Irish Open, but obviously that didn’t happen with everything that happened,” said Lowry, who has only achieved two top-10 finishes since his Open. . victory and has dropped to 30th place in the world rankings.

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“We are here now in Galgorm and I am happy to play in an Irish Open this year and I am happy to be here. I would love for people to come and watch me because Portrush is not really too far, and it would have been good, but it is. I hope I can give people something to watch on television for the next few days.

“As long as the tournament went on, I would always be here, unless there was an important championship. I don’t think I would have missed it. I’m here now so I could play well too.”

“It’s going to be very different. We’ve played a lot of fanless tournaments over the last few weeks and it’s strange. Especially the bigger events, and this is going to be one of the biggest events for me. I’ll see how it goes. I’m used to it now as well. that I’ll just go out there and do what I’ve been doing, try to shoot the best scores I can and see where it leaves me. “

Galgorm Castle is just 30 miles from Royal Portrush, scene of the epic Lowry Open victory

This is Lowry’s first post-lockdown event on the European Tour, having played in 11 events in the United States since June, and he has no trouble meeting strict biosecurity “bubble” regulations compared to the PGA Tour.

“I arrived today and got tested and I think the bubble is a little tighter here in Europe,” he added. “We are confined to the hotel, which is fine, I don’t care at all. Anything to play golf, we are very fortunate to be doing what we do for a living.”

“There are a lot of people who have lost their jobs because of all this, so I’m very happy to be doing my job and trying to do my best.”

Lowry won the Irish Open as a 22-year-old amateur in 2009

Lowry has been a regular participant in the Irish Open since his remarkable victory as a 22-year-old fan at County Louth, where he outpointed Robert Rock in a dramatic playoff, and feels compelled to compete every year as a former champion.

“I got an invitation to Baltray when I was 22 and I managed to win,” Lowry said. “I didn’t really know what it was about and then I realized in the last few years how important it is to the Irish and the Irish players and that’s probably why I’m here this week.

“It gave me a huge boost to my career and I feel like I owe it to the tournament for being back here this week.”