Irish golf legend points to reassuring underlying stats of ‘world-class’ Shane Lowry
Lowry’s last PGA Tour victory was the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he won alongside his teammate Rory McIlroy in April 2024. His last individual PGA Tour victory was in 2019
Paul McGinley has backed Shane Lowry to bounce back, regain his form and start winning again.
Although he admits the Offaly man’s wobble was enough to have him take out and apply the infamous McGinley ‘Stress Test’ to be sure, to be sure.
This comes from the trainee accountant turned professional golfer turned golf commentator and analyst who, as with the actuary and the bookmaker, says the answer is in the figures.
“I have absolutely no worries at all about Shane, I really don’t,” said McGinley.
Lowry’s last PGA Tour victory was the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he won alongside his teammate Rory McIlroy in April 2024. His last individual PGA Tour victory was the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush
“Look at his underlying statistics, I always look for that, because the trends underneath tell you if something is wrong with a player, you can’t see a big dip in any of the categories,” added McGinley
“There’s nothing there, he just doesn’t have the confidence about getting over the line that he certainly had.
“You look at what he did in the Ryder Cup last year. So what I said to him was ‘Listen, you would swap not winning Dubai and not winning in Palm Beach for what you did at the Ryder Cup.
“For people to say that he can’t handle the pressure, the head’s gone, what he did in the cauldron of the Ryder Cup was incredible.
“Remember when all the momentum was going against them, that’s what was so impressive, because things were going really pear-shaped for Europe.
“For him to be able to come down those last few holes and bury that last hole the way he did, I mean it was just phenomenal.”
Lowry parted company with caddie Dean Reynolds last month.
“Sometimes a freshening up is a good thing and a caddie can do that,” McGinley remarked “Professional golf is not a straight line. Everybody has lulls, up and down.
“I certainly think that not winning in Palm Beach there during the year and not winning in Dubai were two great chances and certainly affected him and there’s a bit of a knock on effect from that.
“All it will take now to get him back on the horse again is one good performance again and when he does get it he’s well capable of winning again.”
That could be, by the way, as soon as next week (June 16-19th) at Birkdale.
“The Open should suit him, his game is still so good.
“As I say, I have absolutely no worries whatsoever about Shane coming back into form, this is just the natural evolution of being a professional golfer, it’s just swings and roundabouts.
“He’s on a little bit of a roundabout but he can start swinging again soon, excuse the pun, I have absolutely no worries about that.
“He really is a world-class player and in terms of making the team next year, he’s such a huge personality in that team, he’s been such a huge part of the last few Ryder Cups.
“You talk about culture in the team, and again, having been involved myself and around the team a lot last year and being around them, Shane is massively influential in the success of the team.
“That’s not just in terms of how he plays, but in his personality, so, you know, he’s certainly one of those guys that will be a very, very strong chance at the ‘pick’ if he doesn’t make it to the top six.
“That’s how important he is and everybody knows that very much.”
McGinley was speaking in his role as an EY ambassador announcing the company’s Presenting Partnership of the 2027, 2029 and 2031 Junior Ryder Cup matches.
The 2027 event will be at Ballyneety Golf Course with the final day Adare Manor. The 2029 match in the United States and the 2031 contest in Spain.
The competition features mixed teams of young men and women, 18 years-of-age or under and has previously Rory McIlroy and Leona Maguire, who have gone on to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cups.
Managing Partner of EY Ireland, Frank O’Keeffe, said: “EY is proud to sponsor the Junior Ryder Cup at Ballyneety Golf Course and Adare Manor.
“At EY, we are committed to creating pathways for young talent to succeed and to broadening access to high-performance sport. This is more than a sponsorship, it’s an investment in the next generation.”
Source: Irish Mirror
