SHANE LOWRY HAS outlined his plans to return to the top of golf’s podium by adding to his success at Portrush last year.
The 33-year-old has a number of goals in his head that he still wants to achieve, with a debut appearance at this year’s Ryder Cup top of his agenda. He also won’t be content unless he wins yet another major.
“I’m not happy to live off the Open,” he said in an interview with the Guardian. “I’d love to win more. I feel very lucky and privileged to have done what I did, in that manner and where I did it. Genuinely, if it all ended today it would be decent but I’m a very driven and competitive person. I want to keep pushing on.”
Lowry became the sixth Irishman in total – and fifth in 12 years – to win a major when he prevailed in Portrush last year. “I knew it would be a big deal but when you are living it, it’s incredible,” he said. “We are a great country when our sportspeople are doing well. Now, we have no problem kicking sportspeople when they are down as well.
“I used to curse the other Irish lads. All that people in Ireland asked me was: ‘When are you going to win a major?’ They don’t think you’ve made it unless you win a major.
“The one thing I struggled with is that everywhere I went people expected me to have the burden of being Open champion. In my head I was like: ‘Why is this a burden? This is the greatest thing to happen in my career.’ I’ve not set the world alight since I won but you can get very result-orientated when you do something big. ‘Oh my God, I need to perform to the best of my ability every week.’
“I am mature enough to know golf isn’t like that. Golf is a funny game, we are not all Rory McIlroy where we top-five every week. I’ve put pressure on myself for the majority of my career anyway and if anything, I’d put too much on. I don’t feel anything extra now.”
Except he is putting pressure on himself to finally make Europe’s Ryder Cup team with this year’s tournament at Whistling Straits in his eyeline. “I’ve never done it so it wouldn’t matter who was captain but it would be extra special with Padraig,” Lowry said in that Guardian interview. “I want to make the team and think I would be good in that environment. And it’s not just making the team; I want to help win the Ryder Cup.”
