Shane Lowry says if he agrees with Rory McIlroy about Bethpage Black ahead of the Ryder Cup

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Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy are two of the big names playing at the Irish Open this week but it’s hard to ignore the upcoming Ryder Cup narrative as well.

With Bethpage Black just weeks away from hosting the biggest golf event of the year, excitement is building among the players, media, and fans alike.

Going into the Irish Open at the K Club, players like Lowry and McIlroy will not only be hoping to win but crucially, hone their game ahead of the Ryder Cup.

• READ MORE: How Jordan Spieth reacted when asked to be Patrick Reed’s partner at the Ryder Cup in 2018

Lowry and McIlroy will both be vital for Team Europe and in what is expected to be a tough and hostile atmosphere, they’ll be key for Luke Donald.

McIlroy has already spoken out on the team Luke Donald has assembled and interestingly, he also got onto the subject of Europe having enough experience to handle Bethpage.

And speaking ahead of teeing off at the K Club this week, Lowry weighed in with his own comments.

Shane Lowry comments on Bethpage Black after Rory McIlroy comments

With McIlroy clearly in a super confident mood heading to New York and coming off a season where he’s just landed a career grand slam and more, Team Europe know their talisman is right in form.

Lowry, though, is also a key player for Luke Donald and while he’s not quite challenged in majors this year, his experience and mental toughness remain key.

Indeed, when asked about being a more experienced head now, Lowry admitted that Bethpage doesn’t exactly faze him.

“I think you’re right. I think, if you look at Bob McIntyre and look at how accomplished he is on the PGA Tour now and how well he’s doing this year and the last couple years, compared to just having made the team last time. People like that are also very accomplished now,” Lowry admitted.

“I feel like we have the same team as last time, and I feel like everybody’s become a better player. So I think we have a better chance. It’s going to be hard. It’s not as easy as just copy and paste from what we did in Rome because there’s a lot different challenges, and the golf course plays differently. The golf course in Rome was set up perfectly for us, and not only in the way it was set up with the rough and the way the greens were, but just how the course played for foursomes and four-ball settled pretty well for our pairings. So I don’t know if they’re planning on changing that.

“But yeah, I feel like our team is very, very accomplished. A lot of the guys are playing well. I’m very excited for Bethpage. I played really well the last few rounds there the last time, but I think it’s going to be a different golf course for the Ryder Cup. It’s probably not going to be playing as physical. It will just be interesting to see.

“That’s what the practice trip is going to be great for the team to see how they set up the golf course. It will be good for us to play it twice that week.”

READ MORE: What happened when multiple Masters champion forgot to return his green jacket to Augusta National

Shane Lowry admits he expects the crowd to influence Luke Donald’s pairings

If we listen to Luke Donald, we’ll all recognise he is one of the most detailed men out there when it comes to golf.

However, one facet that is hard to measure simply by using metrics and data is how players handle tough crowds.

Sure, we can look back at some of the more rowdy events but even then, we don’t know the extent a player has suffered heckling or abuse during any given tournament.

And adding his take on that issue, Lowry admitted Donald may look to the crowd for influence.

“Yeah, I think, like if you talk to any, like even if, I suppose, you talk to any sports person who plays home and away fixtures, like let’s say a home and away fixture in football. If you’re a Liverpool player playing at Old Trafford or if you’re a Man U player playing at Anfield, well, if you’re a Man U player playing at Anfield, you’re probably going to get beaten. I’m not a Man U fan, but I am. You’re going to have to prepare yourself differently,” Lowry commented.

“We had 50,000 people cheering for us in Rome, and now we’ll have 50,000 people cheering against us. So it’s going to be different. But we’re going to be very well prepared. There’s only myself, Rory, and Tyrrell here this week, and Luke was playing. But next week we’re all going to be together.

“Luke will get the ball rolling how we’re actually going to actually prepare for that next week. I’m sure he’ll be putting some things in place over the next while, and we’ll be very well prepared.”

With so much talent and a mix of youth and experience in the Europe camp, it would be no surprise to see someone like Lowry out with one of the young guns.