Shane Lowry fully focused on 2023 Ryder Cup despite ‘dog’s abuse’ in US
and live on Freeview channel 276
Padraig Harrington’s European side were thrashed 19-9 in Wisconsin, the biggest winning margin in the modern era, as the United States fully justified their position as odds-on favourites with a dominant display.
But former Open champion Lowry still classes it as one of the best experiences of his career and is determined to be part of the side which will attempt to regain the trophy at Marco Simone Golf Club in Italy in 2023.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“I’m just so disappointed for Paddy to be honest,” Lowry said ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. “I don’t think he deserves the beating we got last week.
“It’s hard because he’s a very good friend, and that’s what I’m most disappointed about last week is we didn’t perform as a team for him.
“But as regards the week itself, I couldn’t have envisaged what it would be like for me.
“It was amazing...it was one of the best experiences of my life, and it’s the only thing I want to do for the next two years.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“I don’t care what I do for the next two years now as long as I’m back in Rome to try to take the trophy back off them.”
With only a handful of European fans able to travel to Whistling Straits due to coronavirus restrictions, the atmosphere was even more one-sided than usual, with the visiting players booed when introduced on the first tee and subject to a chorus of inane heckling throughout the week.
“I didn’t think it was that bad until I asked my wife what it was like for her, and they got dog’s abuse going around as well,” Lowry added. “It’s not very nice for them to have to listen to it, but that’s a small percentage of the crowd.
“I finished my match on 16 on Sunday and I was walking back down to follow the other groups and I got a huge ovation off the crowd and in the grandstand on 16, that was pretty cool.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“And I thought I got on well with the crowd last week as best I could.
“They are obviously a home crowd and they are going to be a partisan crowd.
“Some of the stuff is not very nice...but look, that’s just the way it is.
“Some people are idiots, especially when they drink.
“Nobody turns into a genius with drinking, and that’s what they were doing last week.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“Especially if you were out in the afternoon matches, it was loud.
“As a team it was hard for us to perform our best because you stand up and you hit a three-iron into 10 feet from 250 yards and you don’t even get a ripple of applause. You almost get booed for it.
“But I tried to take it as best I could. I think I performed OK.
“I don’t think it’s going to be like that in Rome. We will obviously have the home support, but we’ll be hopefully winning a bit of a different way.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdLowry admits in an ideal world he would be spending this week “at home on the couch”, but instead will be on the first tee at Carnoustie at 9am on Thursday.
“Obviously it’s going to be a little bit of a comedown from last week,” Lowry added. “It’s going to be hard to go out and play well, but I’m going to try my best.
“I asked Gerry (McManus), my amateur partner, if he was going to play and as long as he was going to play, I was going to come back and play.”
--
A message from the Editor:
Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIn order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.
Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world.
But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.
With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdYou can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk
With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.
Thank you
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.