17 Things You Don't Know About Shane Lowry

17 Things You Don't Know About Shane Lowry

1. He began playing golf at the age of 13 and was a 12 handicap after a year of playing.

2. He was a single figure player before the age of 15.

3. He grew up playing at Esker Hills Golf Club in County Offaly

4. In 2009 he won the Irish Open at County Louth as an amateur, becoming the third amateur to win on the European Tour. No amateur has won since. He shot 62 that week, the lowest round on the European Tour by an amateur, and beat Robert Rock in a playoff. Rock took the winner's cheque as the leading professional.

5. He married his wife Wendy Honner in 2016. They have a daughter together who was born in 2017.

6. His dad Brendan was a successful Gaelic football player, winning the All-Ireland Championship with County Offaly in 1982.

7. He lives in Clara, County Offaly, Ireland but was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath.

8. He is a big Gaelic football fan but also enjoys hurling, rugby and football.

9. He won his second European Tour title at the 2012 Portugal Masters and then he had a huge win at the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. His fourth European Tour win came at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Championship.

10. His career-high world ranking is 16.

11. His best Major finish came at the 2019 Open Championship which he won by six shots from Tommy Fleetwood. Up to that point his previous best finish was a runner-up finish at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont.

12. He is a short game wizard. He told Golf Monthly - “I think the reason my short game is quite good is that all the greens (at Esker Hills) there are raised. I used to play a lot of golf on my own and I’d practice my chipping a lot. You’d always have to chip it up with a little bit of spin to get the ball close. I was never taught how to play them but I chipped and I chipped and I chipped and over time I developed it.”

13. He made a hole-in-one on the 2nd hole during the 2019 Masters Par 3 Contest. 

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14. He is aggressive by nature, telling Golf Monthly - "You learn to aim away from flags and that’s actually quite difficult for me, to take pars and bogeys when you’re out of position. Professional golf is all about just ticking along and taking your birdies when you can. If you can make four or five birdies a day and try and limit your mistakes you’re going to be up there at the end of the week.”

15. He is a very proud Irishman - "Ireland is a place that welcomes you in without even trying. Maybe it’s our social nature or the amazing scenery or the buzz of simply going for a pint. Maybe it’s the craic, that indefinable feeling that embodies Irish fun. Whatever it is, and despite all the rain, I’m proud to be from one of the most beautiful places on earth."

16. He made his first Ryder Cup appearance in 2021, where he was selected as one of Padraig Harrington's three wildcard picks. He won one point form three matches. 

17. He represented Ireland at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.