Shane Lowry Joins Ryder Cup Teammate Rory McIlroy In Equipment Swap At Irish Open

Shane Lowry is one of the star names featuring at the Irish Open and, following his first round on Thursday, the former Champion Golfer of the Year revealed an equipment change to his golf bag.

A Srixon staffer, Lowry had been using a Srixon ZXi LS and a ZX5 LS Mk II driver recently but, at The K Club, the 38-year-old revealed that he had changed to the Srixon ZXi LS+, putting it in the bag for the first few rounds in County Kildare.

The move, perhaps, isn't that much of a surprise for Lowry, who has used and tinkered with various drivers throughout the 2025 season.

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Ryder Cup star used three different drivers for three different rounds at Bay Hill, an event where he finished seventh but lost -1.153 shots in terms of Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.

Putting the new driver in the bag on Thursday, Lowry fired a three-under opening round, hitting 78.6% of his fairways which ranked him 11th in the field. He also averaged 296.5 yards off the tee, five yards further than the tournament average.

Speaking on Thursday, Lowry stated: "It’s a new driver, I am very happy with myself. I have been struggling to find the driver I love this year. And, yeah, that was good today! But it is only one day. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves."

Producing a one-under 71 on Friday, Lowry ranked 40th in driving accuracy and 51st in driving yardage, but his numbers were still around his season stats on the DP World Tour.

On the PGA Tour, where Lowry plies his trade more often, the Irishman has an average driving distance of 298.1 yards, which puts him 131st in the standings, and 82nd in terms of Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, holding a statistic of 0.085.

Lowry isn't the only big-named player to recently make a big change in their golf bag, with Ryder Cup teammate and good friend, Rory McIlroy, opting to swap his wedges.

Playing in a practice round on Wednesday, McIlroy was spotted with the TaylorMade MG5s in the bag, replacing the TaylorMade MG4 wedges that had been in play throughout 2025.

Featuring in a 46° (09SB), 50° (09-SB), 54° (11SB) and 60° (08LB bent to 61°), McIlroy sat in a share of third place after two rounds at The K Club, with the five-time Major winner firing rounds of 71 and 66.

Both McIlroy and Lowry have a busy run of events coming up, as the duo have committed to the DP World Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, next week.

From there, both men will then head to Bethpage Black and the Ryder Cup, where Team Europe will look to retain the trophy on American soil.