Shane Lowry is already looking forward to next year’s Masters tournament after finishing 25th at Augusta last weekend.
The Open Champion and Paddy Power ambassador believes making the cut for just the second time will stand him in good stead for future success at the famous course.
Speaking on the latest episode of our From The Horse’s Mouth podcast, the Irishman also offered his congratulations to Dustin Johnson after the World No 1 earned his very first Green Jacket with a record score of 20-under-par.
Dustin grew up just an hour from Augusta which is similar to how I felt winning the Open at Portrush. It was cool to see him on the 18th green with his brother in tears.
That’s amazing and I’m delighted for him. DJ is a great bloke.
He has put years into the game and deserves it.
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DJ will have had a good night on Sunday but nowhere near the night I had after The Open.
The few days we had as a group of friends was something you’d love to do again and again.
It was unreal. It drives me to do something special again.
The experience of that with friends and family was unbelievable. It’s incredible.
I had said on Sunday morning that no matter what happens, we’re going home and back to to Dublin, My manager Conor Ridge asked me what I wanted to do, as they had a party arranged at Portrush, but I said I wanted to wake up in my own bed tomorrow.
So we nipped down the road to Dublin and a friend of mine who owns a few bars organised a place, a party, got a band in and word obviously filtered around Dublin because it was fairly busy there!
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It obviously snowballed, and when you see what happened at Clara on Tuesday it was just incredible. If Clara ever win a county final there is always a bit of a parade in town, as that is how things are celebrated in the GA community, and it was a bigger version of that.
It was unreal, and the first time I really got emotional was pulling into Clara on the bus.
I couldn’t believe it was all just for me.
This year was my fifth Masters, and I had only ever made the weekend once before – this was my second time making the cut, which is not a great record. To miss another cut would have been very, very disappointing.
The leaders were so far ahead at Augusta, winning the tournament was beyond me by Saturday. I just focused on making the cut and having the best week I could, while learning how the course plays over the weekend in order to prepare to do it again in April. That is only around the corner.
Learning Sunday pins and how the course plays is important – we played nine holes on the Saturday morning, then went out again in the afternoon and the greens were about two foot quicker.
This was an excellent learning experience because hopefully I have a good few Masters left in me and maybe one where I can be challenging. Making that cut last week may make the difference in years to come.
Shane Lowry with an unbelievable chip shot at #TheMasters
Take a bow! ??pic.twitter.com/QR8QILQop4
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 14, 2020
I’m very confident in my own ability and I know I can win big tournaments – and have done in the past – but when World No 1 Dustin Johnson rocks up in perfect conditions and brings his A-game he’s impossible to beat, in my opinion. Not by me, anyway!
Even if I had brought my A-game last week and played as good as I could, and everything went right for me, I still don’t think I could have beaten Dustin – he’s the best golfer in the world. And I would say that about maybe five other golfers in the world.
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But there are certain weeks when they don’t bring their A-game and they can be beaten. You probably only play your very best five times a year, and it is up to you to capitalise on those weeks and make them as good as you can.
It was an incredible win for Dustin last week, and I would say that Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas are all unbeatable on their A-game too. Rory finished fifth last week not playing his best – that’s how good those guys are.
Read More:
- Shane Lowry: You don’t just turn up & win a US Masters
- Shane Lowry: Bryson’s US Open win is more than just tee-box booming
- Gareth Bale reveals which English club he wants to join: ‘Wentworth would be nice’
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