‘The closest one’… Rory McIlory says 36-year-old has now become his best mate on the PGA Tour

Add as preferred source on Google

Rory McIlroy has been speaking about all things golf and revealed that Shane Lowry is his closest friend off the course from the golfing world.

McIlroy was covering a host of subjects and topics around golf on Gary Neville’s The Overlap – Stick to Football yesterday.

During the show, McIlroy paid tribute to Tiger Woods and the relationship they had, while also opening up on what actually happened during his showdown with Patrick Cantlay and his caddy at last year’s Ryder Cup.

The Northern Irishman spoke from the heart and with honesty across the board. And when it came to naming his best friend in golf, there was only one man for McIlroy.

Rory McIlroy names Shane Lowry as his best friend in golf

Getting onto the subject of his best pals in the game, McIlroy admitted it was Lowry who he spends a lot of his time with off the course nowadays.

“I played amateur golf with Shane Lowry and we have become really close over the last couple of years. Our wives have become really close as well, so it has become a really nice relationship and we play a ton of practice rounds together and they actually moved to a similar place to us in Florida, so we see each other all the time. He’d be the closest one,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy also touched on just how good Lowry is at the actual game, agreeing with Ian Wright’s comments in the show about Lowry’s short-game being one of the best around.

Of course, both players played key roles in Europe’s dominant win over the USA last year in Italy and are expected to be major players at Bethpage in two years’ time.

Lowry and McIlroy to lead Europe

When Luke Donald selected Lowry with one of his captain’s picks ahead of the tournament in Rome, there were some eyebrows raised. But in the end, it proved a valid and worthwhile call.

While Lowry wasn’t dominant, he picked up a crucial point and a half to creep Europe towards victory.

Further, and something which Rory touches on in this interview, Lowry was key behind the scenes, delivering a rousing speech at one point just before the Cantlay car park incident.

As we know, McIlroy bagged four from a possible five in his rounds, leading the charge.

Both players, then, will lead the way again in 2025. And both will play crucial roles once again.