LOWRY CAN’T WAIT TO FEEL THAT MAJOR BUZZ AGAIN
Shane welcomes pressure ahead of Open defence
OPEN champion Shane Lowry is convinced he can retain the Claret Jug – because he believes the pressure of the Majors brings out his “A-game”.
The Irish star is preparing for his defence of the title he won in 2019 at Royal Portrush with renewed confidence after his top-four finish at the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Lowry launched the 149th Open at Royal St George’s, which starts on July 15, yesterday and says he is learning how to thrive in the big events.
He said: “I’m going to be disappointed to be giving back the Claret Jug, but hopefully I’m only giving it back for a few days.
“Standing on the 18th green at Portrush with the Claret Jug in your hand kind of gives you a lot of confidence in yourself. I don’t know what it is, but I just love major championships.
“I feel like I’ve been doing that over the past couple of years where I arrive at those big events and manage to kind of find some sort of an ‘A-game’. I just love big weeks. I love the atmosphere. I’ve just had a great weekend [at the PGA] and it’s great to do it in the big tournaments.
“I felt like I played great at The Masters. Obviously the US Open is in a couple of weeks and then back to St George’s to defend my title.
“Last year we played the PGA, the US Open and The Masters with no crowds and I felt like I struggled. It was just hard to kind of get yourself to that level of intensity that you really wanted.”
Lowry is convinced a 50-year-old could win the Claret Jug after Phil Mickelson’s heroics at Kiawah Island.
The American led the field aged 50 and 11 months, trailblazing for the golden oldies.
Lowry, 34, added: “I think The Open does have the opportunity for the older players, the more experienced players, especially when links golf gets a bit tricky. You need to be more experienced to play that type of golf.
“Down the road you could see someone in their 50s winning an Open Championship.
“Padraig Harrington obviously played brilliantly last week and he’ll fancy himself going to St George’s this year.
“Phil will fancy himself as well. A lot of guys will fancy themselves.”
Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient, which runs The Open, hopes to have a crowd of 75 percent capacity – 30,000 a day – at the links in Sandwich, Kent, but admits the situation is “complex and challenging”.
No firm decisions made until mid-June. will