Shane Lowry Profile

The son of a former Gaelic football star, Shane Lowry has made his own name in the sport of golf, carving out a niche for himself among the game's contemporary stars, with a fondness for the dramatic on home soil.

Lowry's greatest career triumph came at the 2019 British Open where he shot a new course record at Royal Portrush on his way to his first Major title. This came just three years after a final round implosion saw him drop a huge lead and finish in an agonizing tie for second at the 2016 US Open.

He has five professional titles to his name, the first of them, the 2009 Irish Open, claimed when he was still an amateur. He turned professional just a week later, thus missing out on the 2009 Walker Cup team.

Lowry was just the third player to earn a European Tour win as an amateur.

He made his first appearance at a Major in the 2010 British Open on The Old Course in St Andrews, where he finished T37th. Nine years later, he won the event, and this saw Lowry become just the second man from the Republic of Ireland to lift the Claret Jug.

Lowry is still chasing his first appearance in the Ryder Cup having so far failed to qualify for the famous team event.

In 2015, he won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by two strokes from Bubba Watson, marking his first World Golf Championship triumph.

Lowry credits long hours of practice for honing his short game into the weapon that allowed him to make a successful assault on a Major Championship. Indeed, his short game is one of the most admired in the modern game.

Lowry picked up golf at a relatively late stage, first playing at the age of 13. By the time he was 15, however, he was already approaching a scratch handicap.

He was registered as a junior at Esker Hills Golf Club and earned a sports scholarship to attend the Athlone Institute of Technology.

At the age of 20, he won the 2007 Irish Amateur Close Championship after beating Niall Turner 4&3 in the matchplay competition.

In 2008, he added the West of Ireland Championship, the North of Ireland Championship and the Mullingar Scratch Cup. He also represented the University College of Dublin's golf team.

Lowry famously won his national Open at County Louth as an amateur in 2009 and this propelled him into the public eye.

He shot a 62 on his way to the victory, roared on by passionate galleries in appalling weather and this remains the lowest round ever recorded on the European Tour by an amateur.

His win at the Irish Open ensured that he peaked at number six in the world amateur golf rankings and entered the professional rankings in 168th place.

Immediately after turning professional Lowry missed the cut three times. He collected his first prize money after sharing 50th place at the Open de France.

He secured a first top 10 finish as a professional in the following season's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship with a share of fourth.

In qualifying for the 2010 British Open, Lowry matched Sir Nick Faldo's course record of 62 at Sunningdale.

A tie for fourth at the 2011 BMW Championship earned Lowry the biggest purse of his career up to that point, and his first win as a professional finally came at the 2012 Portugal Masters with a one shot victory over Englishman Ross Fisher.

In 2014, Lowry went close at the BMW PGA Championship but finished the tournament as runner-up. He has played exceptionally well at Wentworth all throughout his career without yet winning there.

He also secured his first top 10 finish at a Major that term, finishing tied-ninth in the British Open at Royal Liverpool.

Just over six years into his time in the paid ranks, Lowry had still added just the one win and had struggled to impose himself at the highest level, but all that was about to change.

Soon after landing a second top 10 at a Major, in the 2015 US Open, he clinched his first tournament win in America and it was a big one too - nicking Bubba Watson by two strokes to claim the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational and playing a brilliant recovery shot at the 72nd hole to do so.

The following June he led the 2016 US Open by four strokes at the 54-hole stage after a third-round 65. However, a nightmare 6-over-par final round denied Lowry his first Major and consigned him to tied second.

A fallow period followed which was broken by victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January 2019.

Backing up his strong start to 2019, Lowry added a share of eighth in May's PGA Championship and then considered the prospect of the British Open which was returning to the island of Ireland for the first time since 1951.

Excitement was high at Royal Portrush with all Irish golfers under the spotlight, but perhaps Rory McIlroy took most of the attention.

Lowry started strongly in wet and windy conditions reminiscent of his 2009 success and he held a share of the lead coming into the third round.

A stunning 63 on the Saturday provided him with a four shot buffer over Tommy Fleetwood and the weather showed no sign of improving.

Low-scoring became a near impossibility and Lowry's steady 1-over-par 72 earned him a six stroke victory over Fleetwood. Lowry was cheered down the final fairway like an Irish winner at the Cheltenham Festival of horse racing.

Shortly after the triumph, Lowry rose to a career-high 16th in the world rankings.

Lowry was born in Mullingar and grew up in the small town of Clara in County Offaly.

He is proud of his Irish heritage and vociferously supports the national teams in both rugby and soccer. He also enjoys the sports of hurling and Gaelic football, which are incredibly popular in the Emerald Isle.

Inspired by his uncles' love of the game, Lowry took up golf as a teenager and spent much of his teens teaching himself and steadily improving.

Lowry married his long-time girlfriend Wendy Honner in 2016 and the couple welcomed a daughter in the following year. The couple eloped after the stress of planning a big wedding became too much for them.

His younger brother Alan has also enjoyed a promising amateur golf career. Lowry also has an older sister, Sinead.

In 2012, his parents' home was ransacked and many of his amateur awards were stolen or damaged. The culprits also made off with his father's 1982 Sam Maguire Cup, which is awarded to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Gaelic football.

According to the latest available data, Shane Lowry has a net worth of approximately $20million.

Lowry is supplied by Srixon and Cleveland Golf, and also enjoys an endorsement deal with FootJoy.

He is represented by Horizon Sports, an Irish company who also have fellow golfer Ross Fisher plus international rugby stars Johnny Sexton and Peter O'Mahony on their books.

His sponsorship base is largely made up of Irish businesses reflecting his deep patriotism. He has been backed by the Bank of Ireland since 2014, and Kingspan and Immedis since 2017.