It was nervier than it first appeared it would be, but Shane Lowry will be at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
The Irishman was one of the world's form golfers in the months following the 2021 tournament, and managed a T3 finish at the 2022 Masters alongside a memorable win at the BMW PGA at Wentworth in the same year.
Offaly native Lowry has struggled for the same consistency in 2023, however, and ended up well outside the six automatic qualification spots for Team Europe at this year's Ryder Cup.
There was a nervous wait for captain Luke Donald to announce his six captain's picks for Team Europe and, on Monday, it was confirmed that Shane Lowry would be part of the 12-man squad taking the fight to the USA in Rome later this month.
With Lowry making it onto the team ahead of high flyers such as Adrian Meronk, there has been some criticism of the Irishman's selection - not least from LIV Golf defectee Richard Bland.
🚨🏆🇪🇺 LIV golfer Richard Bland is not happy about Adrian Meronk being left off the European Ryder Cup team and says Meronk deserves a spot over Shane Lowry. @LowryTracker pic.twitter.com/O5AoS1N5er
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) September 4, 2023
With Shane Lowry part of the field for this weekend's Irish Open at the K Club, he faced the media on Tuesday and, naturally, he was quizzed on his inclusion on Luke Donald's team.
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Shane Lowry comments on Ryder Cup selection
Speaking to the media in Kildare, Shane Lowry acknowledged those who had suggested that he, without a top ten finish in 2023, was lucky to get onto the team ahead of Meronk, who has won two tournaments this calendar year.
Lowry said that he had faith in captain Luke Donald to make the right selection for Team Europe, and said that he felt for those who had narrowly missed out:
People have their opinion. Adrian has had a great year, and obviously he's unfortunate to miss out, but somebody has to miss out.
I'm not going to sit here and disagree with Luke Donald. It was his decision at the end of the day, if he thinks that somebody else is better for this team than he was.
Lowry went on to give an honest and intriguing reflection on his own performances in 2023.
The 2019 Open champion said that he recognised he had not performed to the highest standard this year, and said that he had likely put himself under too much pressure to be a part of Team Europe in Rome.
24 September 2021; Shane Lowry, right, and Rory McIlroy of Team Europe during their Friday afternoon fourballs match against Tony Finau and Harris English of Team USA at the Ryder Cup 2021 Matches at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, USA. Photo by Tom Russo/Sportsfile
He reflected on the similar road he took to the 2021 Ryder Cup, where he was one of Europe's strongest performers despite only making it onto the team as a late captain's pick:
I mean, my form probably has not been the greatest, but some of the bigger events I've played some of my best golf, and I think that's where I like -- there's nothing bigger than the Ryder Cup, and hopefully I can go to Rome and show people what I'm made of.
I think the last Ryder Cup was the same. Although I made the team, I was literally a few points away from making the team.
I had a great summer, played good golf in 2021, and like I definitely said at the start of the year, my big thing was to not only make the team, but winning the Ryder Cup this year was one of my main goals, and I probably put too much pressure on myself.
Did it get in the way a little bit? I wouldn't say so. I think there's certain times throughout the season where I maybe didn't finish off tournaments as well as I would have liked.
[If] you finish 15th or 20th, it makes it look like an average week, but finish the tournament a little better on Sunday or a couple of shots here or there you're not far away. I certainly didn't feel like I was far off this year.
It's intriguing to hear Shane Lowry speak so honestly about his nervous run to the Ryder Cup.
After choosing Lowry as one of his six captain's picks, Luke Donald praised the Irishman and laid out exactly what he believed he could bring to the team:
Well, he's very passionate. He loves those team atmospheres. I think he grew up around team sports when he was younger. You know, you never walk into a room and see Shane on his own. He's always got people around him. He's got good chat. He's got good energy, good passion.
And then golf-wise, he's proven himself in many big occasions, championship winner at Wentworth, he won the WGC. The biggest moments, he's able to deliver. And we saw some of that obviously at Whistling Straits with that passion, holing putts when he needed to.
Part of the process of having six picks, some of them you have to pick on just knowing that they have been there and you know that they have been in those situations. Shane certainly fits into that category.
Hopefully the pressure on Shane Lowry will spur him on as he and his 11 teammates seek to win back the cup they lost in Wisconsin in 2021.
Featured image: Sportsfile
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