SHANE Lowry has revealed that his golf career could have taken a very different turn if it wasn’t for a decision made by Rory McIlroy.
The 2019 Open champion was speaking on the new series of Netlix ‘Full Swing’ series.
And the Offaly PGA Tour star admitted that he may have taken a different path in life if it wasn’t for four-time major winner Rory McIlroy not wanting to be on the Irish national amateur team.
Lowry was part of the Irish teams, combined from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that won the European Amateur Team Championship in 2007 and 2008.
During the the first 2007 event he was on the same team as pal Rory McIlroy but a turn of fate saw the Northern Irishman opt away from the 2008 edition as he presumably turned focus to his professional career.
Lowry said: “I was quite a late bloomer in golfing terms. I only got the breakthrough on Irish National teams when I was 18.
“And the only reason I got picked up on the Irish team was cause Rory didn’t want to be on it.
“There was 14 people on the squad, and I was number 15.”
Clara native Lowry was then asked did he ever thank McIlroy for dropping out of the team.
But the 38-year-old said he’s never spoke to the Down native about the decision to not play for Ireland during that time but says he may not have been here now if it didn’t happen.
He added: “No, no…. no – we’ve never really talked about it – so, am… no. Who knows if I would be here now if it wasn’t for that.”
The pair won the 2024 Zurich Classic together in the PGA Tour’s only team event.
Full Swing series three is available to watch now on the mega streaming service.
Meanwhile, Lowry has been installed as favourite to win the week’s Cognizant Classic as the Florida Swing gets underway on the PGA Tour.
World number 19 Lowry is favourite with most bookies on the The Palm Beach Gardens course which is home of the infamous ‘Bear Trap.’
15, 16 and 17 make up the stretch of holes – a pair of par-3s sandwiching a tough par-4 – they each rank as some of the hardest on tour.
The 38-year-old has finished inside the top-5 during the last three years at this tournament.
Sixteen of the top 50 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) will compete for a share of the $9.2 million purse.
