Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are best friends off the golf course.
The Irishmen are fierce competitors on the course, but they clearly love seeing each other do well when one of them doesn’t have a chance to win and the other is flying.
Lowry recently moved to America to play the PGA Tour full-time, but he bought his home in Jupiter, Florida way back in 2017.
McIlroy makes his home there as well.
Lowry admitted his delight at watching McIlroy win The Masters, and the five-time major champion loves seeing his friend do well too.
The 38-year-old, who won The Open in 2019, is an elite player but he definitely should have won more than he has done over the past few years.
He’ll be hoping that playing more on the PGA Tour enables him to compete for the big trophies on a more consistent basis.
Rory McIlroy says he’s noticed a ‘huge’ change about Shane Lowry
Lowry has three wins on the PGA Tour to his name.
That record doesn’t do him justice though. He’s easily good enough to have racked up double-digit wins by now.
That said, McIlroy thinks a bright future lies ahead of Lowry.
The Masters champion alluded to the fact that practicing with other top tier PGA Tour stars during the winter months in Florida can only be a good thing for his friend’s game overall.
“Yeah, look, I’ve seen a huge difference since, since he, you know, started living over here full time.
“You know, we practice, we play so much together at home, and I think just, you know, the back and forth from Ireland is tough, and you know, even this time of the year, it’s still hard to practice over there.
“And so I just feel like I’ve seen such a such a big improvement in his consistency week to week, because, you know, of where he lives, being able to practice in great conditions on great golf courses, getting games with the likes of myself or Ricky or JT, or whoever lives out in Jupiter, so, you know, it’s been amazing that I know, as his friend, to see him play so well and so consistently, and I’m going to hang around here and hopefully see him get the job done.“
When Shane Lowry lost the plot at The Masters
Lowry was incredibly angry when he spoke to reporters following his third round at The Masters last month.
“Yeah, a lot of pain, especially those last two holes. I enjoyed every bit of today and then I hit that putt on 17 and I couldn’t believe it. I thought I did great holing one back and then just hit a very poor tee shot on 18.
He said, “I’m going to go and — we talk about Collin Morikawa a few weeks ago. I think we need time. I think I need a half an hour now to sit there and gather my thoughts. I can’t be coming to talk to you guys straightaway. It shouldn’t be happening. I don’t agree with it.
“Tennis players have to talk to the media, but they have a half an hour or hour before they have to do it. I feel like we should have the same thing. That’s how I feel. I’m probably going to say something stupid. I probably already have said something stupid because I’m p—– off right now. I’m just going to leave, okay?“
That was a fair comment from Shane. However, some might say PGA Tour pros are getting paid enough money to do what they love for a living, so they should just put up with the inconvenience of speaking to reporters straight after their rounds have finished.
It will be interesting to see whether changes are made in the future regarding players’ obligations to speak to the press straight after their rounds.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
