The general thought is that an Olympic event should represent the pinnacle of a sport. As the Olympics expand, however, this is patently not the case: Javier Mascherano may be Argentina's most successful Olympic athlete, but he would probably swap this honour for a 2014 World Cup winners medal.
The same is true of golf, as the grand old game enters the Olympiad for the first time this summer. The competition is well down the list of priorities of many golfers, evidenced by the fact that Adam Scott is choosing not to compete for Australia at Rio, citing a busy schedule. Unlike Scott, however, Shane Lowry is giving the competition his full commitment.
Lowry spoke to Balls.ie at the official launch of the One for Ireland campaign in aid of youth homelessness, where he admitted that while the Olympics is not huge in the wider scope of the sport he nonetheless has a great desire to compete in Rio:
The Olympics is different for us golfers, for us it's just another event. We've got 25 or 30 events every year, whereas with other athletes, they have been training for this over the last four or eight years. But obviously it's a big thing for me because I'm Irish, I love my country and to walk out in the opening ceremony wearing the Irish colours would be amazing.
That's the reason I want to go there, obviously it would be great to win a medal, but to experience the whole thing would be amazing. Growing up, I never dreamed I'd be going to the Olympics.
At the moment, Ireland's Olympic team is likely to consist of Lowry alongside Rory McIlroy. Lowry is currently ranked at number 15 in the world, and would only miss out should Padraig Harrington or Graeme McDowell. With both of those golfers outside the top 60, it looks likely that Lowry will be granted his Olympic wish.
That would soften the blow should he miss out on a place at the Ryder Cup, which he admits at the moment is a possibility, although not a scenario he is dwelling upon:
I'm a long way out of the Ryder Cup team at the moment, I need to win pretty soon. I'm just going out each week to play as well as I can, and win the tournament that's in front of me. I'm not thinking about anything in August or September, all I can do is win and move up the world rankings and up the Fedex rankings, that's all I can do.
I've gone out every week and given everything I have; it's been pretty average. I've only missed one cut, but I've been had a lot of 40th and 50th finishes which is not good. When you make the cut, you need to finish inside the top 20, or top 10, otherwise it's a waste of time.
Whilst Lowry has been disappointed by his form thus far this season. it has been beguiled by a couple of highlights, most notably this on the 16th hole on his final day around Augusta national:
Watch @shanelowrygolf make the sixteenth hole-in-one at No. 16 in #themasters history. https://t.co/YClo2d7xmW
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 10, 2016
What are his memories of the shot?
It was probably the only good shot I hit all weekend! That is obviously something I'll look back at and remember all my life. The weekend didn't go the way I wanted, so I was a little disappointed leaving, but that shot made my dinner taste a little better that evening.
My parents and a few friends were there, it was a good laugh to be honest. I was a bit disappointed the others got them! [Davis Love III and Louis Oosthuizen both holed from the tee after Lowry].
Lowry threatened to toss the ball to the crowd before deciding to cling on to it, and he revealed that he is giving it to a friend for a charity auction, although maintains that "it's not going to be like Christy's Three Iron, there's only going to be one of them!".
Lowry is facing into an important month, which includes the Players Championship and the Irish Open at the K Club in successive weeks. He may be disappointed with his year thus far, but there are plenty of tournaments left to remedy that.
Pro Golfer Shane Lowry and TV Presenter Jenny Buckley today officially launched the One for Ireland campaign in aid of youth homelessness, co-ordinated by the Irish Youth Foundation. This Friday (29th April) customers will be asked to add €1 to their bill when paying at the till at SPAR, XL, Londis, Mace, EUROSPAR, Applegreen, Fresh, and Starbucks outlets, along with many independent stores to help the 1,800 homeless children living in Ireland today. You can also donate by texting “One” to 50300 or visit www.oneforireland.ie.
