‘If I won another major, another Irish Open… and winning the Ryder Cup in Adare’ – Shane Lowry on his future wish list

It’s been more than 10 weeks since the Clara man slammed the door shut on Keegan Bradley’s US team, and while he admits that the putt he dreaded having to take – when dreaming of his potential role in New York – is something he can’t stop thinking about, he’s already imagining another Ryder Cup party in Adare, not to mention more major glory.

“I actually think about a lot; probably far too much,” Lowry confessed in the snug of The Old Warehouse, the Tullamore pub he owns with pal Alan Clancy. “I was home for one day before the Spanish Open in Madrid, but I haven’t been home since the Ryder Cup, and it’s all people want to talk about.”

While Lowry will briefly dash back to Florida next week to join Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Haotong Li in taking on Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Luke Clanton and Bradley in The Optum Golf Channel Games exhibition match next Wednesday, it’s time to be with loved ones now and enjoy Christmas.

That famous putt still remains a hot topic, and while Lowry wants to put his head in the lion’s mouth again in Adare in 2027, he admits that his moment of glory was something he dreaded as the Ryder Cup was about to tee off.

“I remember I was on the putting green with [my caddie] Darren [Reynolds] and [coach] Neil [Manchip], and I wasn’t feeling great,” he recalled.

“If you’d have told me then I was going to have a six or seven footer to retain the Ryder Cup in one of the last matches out on Sunday, I probably would have gotten a car, headed to JFK and gone home. Honestly, I was not wanting that at all.

Shane Lowry with the Ryder Cup trophy

“And even on Sunday, when you’re going out, you’re kind of hopeful that… I hope it gets done early and I win my point, but like, I’m swanning around the back nine with no pressure.

“But now I look back on it, and I’m like, that was one of the best things I’ve ever done, you know what I mean? So you have to live the pressure to enjoy it afterwards.

“But as it’s all happening, it’s absolutely miserable, like it’s horrible.”

Lowry’s victory jig on the 18th, dubbed over with Mícheál Ó hEithir’s iconic commentary on Darby’s All-Ireland winning goal, went viral on social media that Sunday night in New York.

“I know, it’s funny, and the celebration is pretty similar,” Lowry said with a big grin. “The celebration was just pure. I’m sure it was like Séamus Darby, when he scored that goal, he didn’t know what to do with himself. I was the same.”

Lowry doesn’t like to speak publicly about too many lofty goals, but he’s convinced that he’s got a lot more to achieve as he continues to get better and fitter after losing 15kg (two stone) since the 2021 Ryder Cup.

“Yeah, I’m not stupid,” said the Clara man, who weighs in now as a lean and mean 99kg machine, admitting that being friends with someone like Rory McIlroy only makes him work harder with strength and conditioning coach Robbie Cannon.

“Like, I’m 39 in April, so I’m not getting any younger, but I do feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve been in, and I feel like my game is as good as it’s ever been. So, I feel like there are still some of my best years ahead of me.

“I feel like if I can get to 45 still at a competitive level, I’ve done very, very well. I’ve done 17 years on tour now. It’s a long, long time.

“That’s a long career in a sport. And I feel like if I can get up to 20, 21, 22 years at a high level, I’ve had a really, really good career.”

Bar the Ryder Cup, he didn’t lift a trophy this year, but he knows that while the Ryder Cup makes that anecdotal, he’s determined to get back in that winner’s circle.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? Because golf is so individual that you look back and you’re always very critical of what you’ve done, so the number one thing is I didn’t win this year, which is very disappointing,” he said.

“I played all my good golf from January to May, and the thing is, even the top players, you don’t play well all year, it just doesn’t happen like that… you have to pick your battles when you’re playing well, and I didn’t take advantage of it.

“But when we look back on 2025, the only thing I’ll remember in 20 years is holing that putt in Bethpage; none of the rest of it will be mentioned!”

And the future? What can Lowry see when he peers into that crystal ball?

“Honestly, if I won another major, another Irish Open… and winning the Ryder Cup in Adare,” he mused aloud.

“It’s funny, if you were to sit down and say to me here, now, you’re going to be part of a winning Ryder Cup team in Adare Manor, I genuinely don’t care what I do for the next two years.

“I definitely don’t want to be driving buggies in Adare. That’s my number one. I know there’s a chance I’ll be there in some capacity, but I want to be playing.”