POD BACKS LOWRY TO BE A
PADRAIG HARRINGTON wants “big-time player” Shane Lowry to lead his Ryder Cup team to victory next year.
Lowry followed in the footsteps of his fellow Irishman by winning his first Major at the Open – and said his next target is to represent Europe at Whistling Straits.
His friend Harrington will be captain in September 2020 on the Wisconsin links-style course on the banks of Lake Michigan. And the three-time Major winner said: “It is likely to be windy, tough conditions. Shane is a strong player – he can handle the pressure. I hope he is leading the team out. His wins have always come on big occasions. He’s delivered on those big occasions. He’s a big-time player. When he gets up there he has the belief and confidence. Every win has been a big win at that stage of his career. He has the ability to win under extreme pressure.”
Lowry, who will Memphis today for the WGCFedEx St Jude Invitational, said: “In the short term I’m going to enjoy this, there’s no doubt about that, but in the long term you want to back up your success.
“My big goal still remains the same and that is to be on the plane going to Whistling Straits next year. That’s my plan for the next 12 months. Hopefully that involves a couple of wins along the way.
“I have a lot to play for now. I’m well up there in the FedExCup now. So I’ve got a busy few months ahead of me and I’m very excited. But I’m really going to enjoy this first.”
Harrington won his first Major at the 2007 Open at Carnoustie – and went on to retain the trophy and claim the US PGA the same year.
But the Dubliner fears Lowry’s Open triumph at Royal Portrush – the first Major in Northern Ireland since 1951 – will be hard to beat.
“This is as good as it gets in golf,” said European skipper Pod. “Can he win more Majors? Why not?
He has proved fly to he can win on the big, big occasions. He proves he can handle the pressure. This isn’t a catalyst – this is it. This is what it is. You shouldn’t think of this as a stepping stone.
“I don’t think too many players in the game of golf would relish playing against him in the final rounds.” Lowry (left, with wife Wendy and daughter Iris) leapt to fame when winning the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur, and has now finally stepped out of Rory McIlroy’s shadow after losing his card on the PGA Tour and returning to the European Tour with his new caddie Brian Martin this season. He won in Abu Dhabi in January and is now up to world No.17.
“This is a game of confidence,” said his friend Graeme McDowell. “When you are not playing well, you can get the confidence knocked out of you very quickly in this sport.
“I think he came back from the States and he remembered who he