Shane Lowry - 2019 Champion Golfer of The Year (note first post please for posting guidance)

backspin.

He was interviewed on sky last night and said he was tired out in the course. Can he really be that fit at that weight. Maybe a fitness, weights program could help him.

SeeMoreBut

backspin. wrote: »

He was interviewed on sky last night and said he was tired out in the course. Can he really be that fit at that weight. Maybe a fitness, weights program could help him.

Mentally he must be tired.

He kind of felt like he had given up but felt like he'd be ok for invites next week and won't need to go to web.com finals.

I think he said he'd be back for Portugal no matter what happens this weekend.

AGC

backspin. wrote: »

He was interviewed on sky last night and said he was tired out in the course. Can he really be that fit at that weight. Maybe a fitness, weights program could help him.

This again?! Go 4 weeks in a row playing 16 competitive rounds, flights, hotels, early starts, practice, being in contention in a major and then go into a fifth week after and see how you get on.

There is a reason the only players that tend to play week in week out are te ones chasing their cards. Players just don’t do it because it is tough Work both physically and mentally .

GreeBo

AGC wrote: »

This again?! Go 4 weeks in a row playing 16 competitive rounds, flights, hotels, early starts, practice, being in contention in a major and then go into a fifth week after and see how you get on.

There is a reason the only players that tend to play week in week out are te ones chasing their cards. Players just don’t do it because it is tough Work both physically and mentally .

No doubt, which is why the fitter you are the better.

Interesting talk on RTE the other night with Gary Murphy and a few others, mentioned how Koepka was in poor shape when he played on the European tour and then decided to work on his conditioning to become the physical specimen that he is today.

slave1

AGC wrote: »

This again?! Go 4 weeks in a row playing 16 competitive rounds, flights, hotels, early starts, practice, being in contention in a major and then go into a fifth week after and see how you get on.

There is a reason the only players that tend to play week in week out are te ones chasing their cards. Players just don’t do it because it is tough Work both physically and mentally .

Good thing he wasn't around in the 40's and 50's so, plenty of 36hole days, indeed the PGA was 5+ days in a row of 36holes, that's 12 rounds in 7 days to win, and even if they won they would be back out the next week for more 36hole comps.
Also the majors were condensed so you could have three within 6/7 weeks and they were all long comps.

These guys are professionals, it's their job, they need to be mentally and physically fit for purpose.

PokeHerKing

AGC wrote:

This again?! Go 4 weeks in a row playing 16 competitive rounds, flights, hotels, early starts, practice, being in contention in a major and then go into a fifth week after and see how you get on.

AGC wrote:

There is a reason the only players that tend to play week in week out are te ones chasing their cards. Players just don’t do it because it is tough Work both physically and mentally .

Are you saying carrying an extra 4/5 stone of fat is not detrimental to your overall fitness and stamina?

techdiver

SeeMoreBut wrote: »

Mentally he must be tired.

He kind of felt like he had given up but felt like he'd be ok for invites next week and won't need to go to web.com finals.

I think he said he'd be back for Portugal no matter what happens this weekend.

Sorry, could you explain this? I thought his card was gone if he didn't make the top 125 and doesn't come through the web.com playoffs?

Does he mean next season he has invites banked for most events or something?

callaway92

PokeHerKing wrote: »

Are you saying carrying an extra 4/5 stone of fat is not detrimental to your overall fitness and stamina?

Be careful - I got some load of abuse for pointing this out too.

SeeMoreBut

techdiver wrote: »

Sorry, could you explain this? I thought his card was gone if he didn't make the top 125 and doesn't come through the web.com playoffs?

Does he mean next season he has invites banked for most events or something?

He was saying along the lines he'd be in some different category and that he'd get into a lot of the events.

I guess the big ones like players etc he won't get into.

Next year instead of week I meant

AGC

PokeHerKing wrote: »

Are you saying carrying an extra 4/5 stone of fat is not detrimental to your overall fitness and stamina?

4/5 stone is stretching it a bit.

Not sure if Shane still does work with Robbie Cannon or not but I’m sure what he focuses on is the right thing.

I have played golf with lads who would be playing to a high level of GAA and physically in great shape and are shattered after a game of golf. You work on what you need to get around.

Very easy for lads to sit here and comment on what they don’t know about. A guy who has been on the road for 5 weeks says he’s tired and lads jump all over it. I do a long week in work and I’m bo**oxed myself.

I better hit the gym.....

charlieIRL

Less of the weight posts last. Not needed.


Lowry had 2 6 foot putts for birdies on 17&18 and missed both to finish on -2. Wonder will this be enough to make the cut??

Rikand

charlieIRL wrote: »

Less of the weight posts last. Not needed.


Lowry had 2 6 foot putts for birdies on 17&18 and missed both to finish on -2. Wonder will this be enough to make the cut??

It wasnt - cut fell at -3.

Gmac only irish lad to make the weekend and he only just about did it himself

davo10

charlieIRL wrote: »

Less of the weight posts last. Not needed.

To be fair, sport and fitness tend to be mutually exclusive, if you are not fit enough to compete, how can you?

As for tiredness, players travel week in week out to tournaments, and will have done since they took a club in their hand, I'm pretty sure the top pros travel in comfort. Playing consecutive weeks would be tiring for most people, but if that is your job, then you are used to it. Let's not forget the pros don't have to lug that big bag around the course, they tend to hit approx 45 driver/irons and the rest are putts.

If a footballer was playing badly, tired and appeared over weight, I'm pretty sure this would be discussed as a contributing factor without sanction. If we cannot comment on players being overweight, maybe it is more PC to point to the athleticism of the players who are playing well and acknowledge the importance of fitness to their performance.

backspin.

I'd love to see Shane on a serious gym program like Dustin or Keopka for a year or two. Just to see where it takes him. I suspect it would be the making of him.

I'm not so sure why the sensitivity about his weight. Any other sports man carrying an obvious 3 stone extra would be hammered for it.

First Up

backspin. wrote: »

I'd love to see Shane on a serious gym program like Dustin or Keopka for a year or two. Just to see where it takes him. I suspect it would be the making of him.

I'm not so sure why the sensitivity about his weight. Any other sports man carrying an obvious 3 stone extra would be hammered for it.

Moving back to Europe and away from US style portion sizes has to help. But the solution is in his own hands wherever he is based.

Trampas

I think it just shows that if you’re not on top of game playing less than 20 events on tour isn’t enough.

Most of the others around him and above are not far off playing every week on tour possible.

If he’s fit enough only Shane knows

PokeHerKing

AGC wrote:

4/5 stone is stretching it a bit.

I would say he's close to 17 stone and should probably be around 13 stone. So I don't think it's stretching it too much.

AGC wrote:

I better hit the gym.....

He doesn't need to hit the gym. He needs to eat right and focus on his golf.

The weight should fall off him.

Mushy

Shane strikes me as someone who certainly prioritises other aspects of his life. This year, his first kid was born, I feel he'd prefer if he could spend all the time with her. All the more power to him too, he's good at the sport, he can make a living and live comfortably.

Yeah it may have backfired now as he loses his card, so it'll focus where he wants to put that balance. I don't think he'll change too much in the future tbh, and it'll be great to see.

PokeHerKing

Mushy wrote:

Shane strikes me as someone who certainly prioritises other aspects of his life. This year, his first kid was born, I feel he'd prefer if he could spend all the time with her. All the more power to him too, he's good at the sport, he can make a living and live comfortably.

I love Shanes casual nature as well. Seems like a nice bloke and I'm in awe of what he's achieved so far.

Taking the above attitude is to be commended, he's in no fear of being in the poor house and you don't get a second chance to hear your child's first word or see them take their first steps.

In keeping with the above he should lose weight for his health and his family imo. Improved golf as a by product would just be a brucey bonus.

First Up

PokeHerKing wrote: »

Mushy wrote:

Shane strikes me as someone who certainly prioritises other aspects of his life. This year, his first kid was born, I feel he'd prefer if he could spend all the time with her. All the more power to him too, he's good at the sport, he can make a living and live comfortably.

I love Shanes casual nature as well. Seems like a nice bloke and I'm in awe of what he's achieved so far.

Taking the above attitude is to be commended, he's in no fear of being in the poor house and you don't get a second chance to hear your child's first word or see them take their first steps.

In keeping with the above he should lose weight for his health and his family imo. Improved golf as a by product would just be a brucey bonus.

Should we be offering lifestyle advice to airline pilots and travelling salesmen too?

We are commenting on his golf and what might improve it. The external factors apply to all golfers.

Pogue eile

If anyone actually bothered to watch the interview Lowry was clearly talking about mental fatique and not physical.

callaway92

Pogue eile wrote: »

If anyone actually bothered to watch the interview Lowry was clearly talking about mental fatique and not physical.

Not many players (if any) would ever admit to physical fatigue. Mental fatigue/exhaustion is the cliché excuse and an easy go-to.

Admitting physical fatigue is admitting 'failure' so-to-speak. Mental fatigue isn't a failure.

prawnsambo

callaway92 wrote: »

Not many players (if any) would ever admit to physical fatigue. Mental fatigue/exhaustion is the cliché excuse and an easy go-to.

Admitting physical fatigue is admitting 'failure' so-to-speak. Mental fatigue isn't a failure.

The difference between elite sportspeople and us is the level of sustained concentration they apply to their sport. Games like golf where that level is maintained for hours is extremely tiring. It's certainly not a cliché.

callaway92

prawnsambo wrote: »

The difference between elite sportspeople and us is the level of sustained concentration they apply to their sport. Games like golf where that level is maintained for hours is extremely tiring. It's certainly not a cliché.

We’ll just stay disagreed on that so because I’m not having it.

AGC

callaway92 wrote: »

We’ll just stay disagreed on that so because I’m not having it.

What?!

Of course maintaining a high level of concentration is going to be draining. In any walk of life.

GreeBo

Sustained mental focus is certainly very tiring.
Being unfit is certainly very tiring.

Adding the two leads to a player being very, very tired.

So, since everyone is going to be very tired from the mental aspect, being as physically fit as possible would seems to be a no brainer.

callaway92

AGC wrote: »

What?!

Of course maintaining a high level of concentration is going to be draining. In any walk of life.

Jesus, I know concentration at a high level is draining - I was referring to what he said about my statement in regards to what Lowry said being clichèd.

GreeBo

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Any chance of an old multiquote GreeBo :pac:

Or at least hands up

Right back at 'cha. :cool:

Happy4all

Is there a qualification tournament option or is he heading straight back to the europeantour next season?

slave1

He will rely on invites, I highly doubt he will choose the web tour to earn his PGA card back. Once he starts climbing back up the rankings, especially the top 64/50 the invites will come

FixdePitchmark

GreeBo wrote: »

Right back at 'cha. :cool:

Above was in the context of him improving under his new caddy - he has.

He is losing his card due to his full season performance .

Anyway - point scoring on an Irish pro having a bad week is a bit pathetic.

A good few posters here have always enjoyed putting Shane down.

I'd say he will come back and win a major.

slave1

I'd say Alan is delighted with the money from being on the bag, nice windfall

slingerz

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Above was in the context of him improving under his new caddy - he has.

He is losing his card due to his full season performance .

Anyway - point scoring on an Irish pro having a bad week is a bit pathetic.

A good few posters here have always enjoyed putting Shane down.

I'd say he will come back and win a major.

I dont think its a targeted vendetta against Lowry rather a case that people can see the opportunites that he has and disagree with his approach and feel he could make imrpovements by changing a few things. Quite simply he's not taking advantage of the opportunites afforded to him in some peoples eyes

SeeMoreBut

slave1 wrote: »

He will rely on invites, I highly doubt he will choose the web tour to earn his PGA card back. Once he starts climbing back up the rankings, especially the top 64/50 the invites will come

Not as easy on euro tour as points are usually much less.

Pressure on him to preform when gets invites on pga

GreeBo

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Above was in the context of him improving under his new caddy - he has.

He is losing his card due to his full season performance .

Anyway - point scoring on an Irish pro having a bad week is a bit pathetic.

A good few posters here have always enjoyed putting Shane down.

I'd say he will come back and win a major.

Improving other than missing a pretty important cut you mean?

Its highly debatable as to whether or not the improvement has anything to do with a new caddy.

He didn't have a bad week, he has had a bad year.

FixdePitchmark

slingerz wrote: »

I dont think its a targeted vendetta against Lowry rather a case that people can see the opportunites that he has and disagree with his approach and feel he could make imrpovements by changing a few things. Quite simply he's not taking advantage of the opportunites afforded to him in some peoples eyes

I just think people have a silly expectation of Irish pros on tour.

We don't have a great record of performance in US - the list of players that have won over there is ridiculously low. (For all our over vaulted talk of Irish golf)

Shane coming from a level of amateur quickly into the professional golf - has now won on European Tour and US - that is a very small number of Irish golfers - including players who we consider top Irish golfers.

Shane has got in the mix in majors and has got to the top 20 in the OWGR.

People not grateful for Shane haven't followed golf long enough in Ireland.

He has made a couple of big changes in his personal life and they have been difficult and impacted on his game.

He has won over 10 million over 10 year on the European tour alone.
He is 31 years of age - has a good 10 years ahead at the top of the game.

I fully expect him to bounce back - and periods like this are part of a pro golfers' career.

Guys with far more talent and stature in the game have had far bigger lows -

Shane has just had a T12 in the USPGA - it is not exactly like he is far off the pace off getting back to the top.

Again - I think he will win a major.

Gym or no gym.

davo10

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

I just think people have a silly expectation of Irish pros on tour.

We don't have a great record of performance in US - the list of players that have won over there is ridiculously low. (For all our over vaulted talk of Irish golf)

Shane coming from a level of amateur quickly into the professional golf - has now won on European Tour and US - that is a very small number of Irish golfers - including players who we consider top Irish golfers.

Shane has got in the mix in majors and has got to the top 20 in the OWGR.

People not grateful for Shane haven't followed golf long enough in Ireland.

He has made a couple of big changes in his personal life and they have been difficult and impacted on his game.

He has won over 10 million over 10 year on the European tour alone.
He is 31 years of age - has a good 10 years ahead at the top of the game.

I fully expect him to bounce back - and periods like this are part of a pro golfers' career.

Guys with far more talent and stature in the game have had far bigger lows -

Shane has just had a T12 in the USPGA - it is not exactly like he is far off the pace off getting back to the top.

Again - I think he will win a major.

Gym or no gym.

To be fair, he has been a pro golfer for nearly 10 years, he isn't a rookie. He did well a few years ago but at 31 he has fallen off the PGA tour, that is an age when he should be in his prime, not like P Harrington with one eye on the seniors tour.

If Lowry was from the UK, or France, or the US and there was a thread about him, the posts would probably be the same. You feel it is wrong because he is Irish, I don't see what the benefit of that is myself.

Mysterypunter

He has done well, its not an easy game. But the standard is so high, that it takes 100% focus. If you think its good now, wait three or four years, the standard is rising the whole time

FixdePitchmark

davo10 wrote: »

, not like P Harrington with one eye on the seniors tour.

.

You can't be taken serious with a post like that.

Old diesel

davo10 wrote: »

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

I just think people have a silly expectation of Irish pros on tour.

We don't have a great record of performance in US - the list of players that have won over there is ridiculously low. (For all our over vaulted talk of Irish golf)

Shane coming from a level of amateur quickly into the professional golf - has now won on European Tour and US - that is a very small number of Irish golfers - including players who we consider top Irish golfers.

Shane has got in the mix in majors and has got to the top 20 in the OWGR.

People not grateful for Shane haven't followed golf long enough in Ireland.

He has made a couple of big changes in his personal life and they have been difficult and impacted on his game.

He has won over 10 million over 10 year on the European tour alone.
He is 31 years of age - has a good 10 years ahead at the top of the game.

I fully expect him to bounce back - and periods like this are part of a pro golfers' career.

Guys with far more talent and stature in the game have had far bigger lows -

Shane has just had a T12 in the USPGA - it is not exactly like he is far off the pace off getting back to the top.

Again - I think he will win a major.

Gym or no gym.

To be fair, he has been a pro golfer for nearly 10 years, he isn't a rookie. He did well a few years ago but at 31 he has fallen off the PGA tour, that is an age when he should be in his prime, not like P Harrington with one eye on the seniors tour.

If Lowry was from the UK, or France, or the US and there was a thread about him, the posts would probably be the same. You feel it is wrong because he is Irish, I don't see what the benefit of that is myself.

The point is that the guy has had decent success in a sport where success is hard to come by.

The fact he is 31 can also be termed a positive in that he has time to bounce back.

Not sure why the world needs to end given that he has showed some reasonable results recently

Old diesel

The missed cut was a disaster in the context of trying to save his card.

But his previous 3 results were two T12s and a T15.

This suggests he can still do okay and with work can still turn it around

447 k and 66th place in Race to Dubai with 6 events clocked up.

The 162 k payday at US PGA really helps here though.

davo10

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

You can't be taken serious with a post like that.

It was a euphemism, my apologies, I should have made it simpler. At 46 PH is at a different stage in his career than Lowry, his results show he isn't really competitive on the PGA tour anymore but he is a multiple major and tour comp winner so he can look forward to competing on a different level in a couple of years. Lowry should be in his prime, has a young family, moved to the US in recent years, the loss of his PGA card is more of a blow I would suspect..

FixdePitchmark

davo10 wrote: »

It was a euphemism, my apologies, I should have made it simpler. At 46 PH is at a different stage in his career than Lowry, his results show he isn't really competitive on the PGA tour anymore but he is a multiple major and tour comp winner so he can look forward to competing on a different level in a couple of years. Lowry should be in his prime, has a young family, moved to the US in recent years, the loss of his PGA card is more of a blow I would suspect..

Would you like to guess what age Padraig was at his prime ?

Benicetomonty

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Would you like to guess what age Padraig was at his prime ?

37 would be the obvious estimate with 2 major wins in 2008 and, if memory serves, player of the year on both sides of the Atlantic. Arguably however, he peaked between 04 and 07; comfortably made Ryder Cup teams, multiple wins on both tours, almost winning 06 US Open and, finally, the breakthrough at Carnoustie. So Id say his peak was at 35 or so. His form was never the same after 08. Wins a lot more sporadic and consistency fell away. Had a chance at the USPGA in 09 and the US Open in 2012 but couldnt convert and had to be picked to play his last Ryder Cup in 2010, in which he performed poorly.

davo10

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Would you like to guess what age Padraig was at his prime ?

I'm not sure what the relevance of that question is, but by the time he was Lowry's age he had been a pro for 7 years and had 10 wins.

Comparing golfers from different eras is difficult, the competition is different now and it may well be more difficult to win. But to bring this back on point, Harrington was/is recognised as one of the most dedicated practitioners of the game and always looks after his fitness. I also don't think you can compare their ability, Harrington showed from the outset that he was going to be a frequent winner. I don't believe second places count but anyone who remembers Harrington when he started out will remember the number of final days when he was in contention to win but he didn't seem to be able to make the final push, once he made the breakthrough, he won regularly.

To say that Lowry should not be questioned just because he is Irish is condescending to him, he is a very good golfer, he should be discussed on his golfing merits, not because of where he was born. His last couple of outings show that he is a quality golfer, but you don't lose your card because of two or three tournaments, you lose it because you haven't performed to the required standard to keep your card over a season. Now he has to look at where it went wrong and make the changes necessary to give himself the best chance to relaunch his career and hopefully get back to some top 10 finishes. There are now literally hundreds of golfers around the world who are playing on the web.com and other tours who were once on the top tour, or are trying to get there.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

GreeBo

ziggy wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

You get used to it.

FixdePitchmark

ziggy wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Very good ziggy.

But Shane first pro in a long time - from south that you can see pick up a major.

You had Padraig and that was class - there isn't much else around

Dunne maybe.

davo10

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Very good ziggy.

But Shane first pro in a long time - from south that you can see pick up a major.

You had Padraig and that was class - there isn't much else around

Dunne maybe.

You can see him picking up a major, the week he loses his playing card for PGA tour? Is that because he is Irish?

AGC

davo10 wrote: »

You can see him picking up a major, the week he loses his playing card for PGA tour? Is that because he is Irish?

If he is capable of winning a WGC when on form he could do a major. Should have won the US Open so yes I would not be surprised if he won one, not because he is Irish.

Same can be said for plenty of other golfers though who on form can win a major. Look at some of the 1 hit wonders that have won majors. Lowry would certainly be well ahead of them.