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

willabur

Exactly wrote: »

There are a lot more than 32 golfers in the world the last time I checked. Show some respect for a major champion, WGC winner as well as a winner of our national open as an amateur.

That was clearly a joke I made

Mantis Toboggan

Think he may struggle if I'm honest, think we'll see the big hitters dominate this one given how long the course is.

big_drive

Big grouping for him - Sergio and Dustin Johnson

Motivator

gypsy79 wrote: »

Its not true that people like to rag on him.....but the facts are he is a golfer capable of a big performance. Not one that can do it regularly

He is ranked 60th on points gained this year. His position is inflated by WGC events. He is someway off. In reality he is a 50-75 golfer in the world with capability throw in big win that cataputs him up ranking for 2 years while the points fall off

Harrington's career was probably more consistent at his best

Harrington was the best Irish golfer we’ll ever see. His lowest ranking between 2002 and 2010 was 17th in the world and he was comfortably in the top 10 for those years. He was a phenomenal player who went toe to toe with Woods, Singh and Mickelson many times when those three were practically untouchable. Lowry isn’t even in the same parish as Harrington and I don’t think he ever will be.

dublin49

Motivator wrote: »

Harrington was the best Irish golfer we’ll ever see. His lowest ranking between 2002 and 2010 was 17th in the world and he was comfortably in the top 10 for those years. He was a phenomenal player who went toe to toe with Woods, Singh and Mickelson many times when those three were practically untouchable. Lowry isn’t even in the same parish as Harrington and I don’t think he ever will be.

I followed Haro for years and he was nearly always in the mix when he was Lowrys age.You would imagine Lowry is the more natural /talented golfer but Haro just got so much more from what he had and I dont think Shane or practically anybody else worked as hard as him.And at his peak Haro cud be a great putter,

CMcsporty

gypsy79 wrote: »

You might get a ban for posting facts about Shane....be warned

Those are also season long statistics and don't tell the full story.

Also those statistics do not include The Masters.
Where he finished T21.
Lowry's best finish and he ranked 7th in GIR.

Approach game and scrambling has improved allot over the last 8 tournaments.

e.g.
Lowry ranks 2nd SGA on PGA tour over last 8 tournaments.

His driver has been hit or miss all season.
He won the open with his Srixon z585. Then changed to the Z 785 without great success. Changed again at the start of the year to the ZX5.

For those who like to laugh...watch his drive on the 10th during 4th round.
https://www.masters.com/en_US/players/player_33204.html?promo=bio_lb

But saw signs of improved accuracy off the tee at Sawgrass (8th), Honda (T36th) and Harbour Town (T9).

I think he is definitely in with a chance at Kiawah. Esp if the wind picks up.

willabur

CMcsporty wrote: »

Those are also season long statistics and don't tell the full story.

Also those statistics do not include The Masters.
Where he finished T21.
Lowry's best finish and he ranked 7th in GIR.

Approach game and scrambling has improved allot over the last 8 tournaments.

e.g.
Lowry ranks 2nd SGA on PGA tour over last 8 tournaments.

His driver has been hit or miss all season.
He won the open with his Srixon z585. Then changed to the Z 785 without great success. Changed again at the start of the year to the ZX5.

For those who like to laugh...watch his drive on the 10th during 4th round.
https://www.masters.com/en_US/players/player_33204.html?promo=bio_lb

But saw signs of improved accuracy off the tee at Sawgrass (8th), Honda (T36th) and Harbour Town (T9).

I think he is definitely in with a chance at Kiawah. Esp if the wind picks up.

You are right that stats don't tell the whole story but they are a very strong indicator of performance. Shane is a streaky player but has potential and mentality to contend and close out a major but the facts are that there are 30+ golfers out there who are better than him looking to win this weekend. Thats a fact. That he can raise his game before and may well do again when it matters most, well you can say that about alot of other players out there.


I'd also argue that Rory is the greatest golfer from his island of all time. I love harrington but he is well short of Rory

dublin49

I'd also argue that Rory is the greatest golfer from his island of all time. I love harrington but he is well short of Rory[/QUOTE]



I would agree Rory the greatest,but as an Irish golf fan for me the enjoyment of his achievements was sullied by his remarks about being more British where as Haro was just great to follow.

Hi dublin49, please have a look at our Charter, specifically

Discussing Players Nationalities
It is forbidden to post discussions about what Nationality a player is or who they should play for. This is purely the players decision and does not belong on this forum

Leaving post as is but please no quoting or responses folks

The Big Easy

Not really sure what Paddy and Rory have got to do with it apart from also hailing from this island. Rory is one of the greatest players ever and Paddy is a three-time major winner and European Tour great.

I don't think anyone is arguing that Shane is in their league?

Willabur's comments are fair enough about there being 30 or so golfers with as much chance as Shane of stepping up and winning when it matters, however, that's still very rarefied air to be in.

Expectations can be a little too high when it comes to Shane (possibly related to the two golfers mentioned above) and then that leads to disappointment and frustration when he doesn't meet them.

I love watching and supporting him and enjoy his character and personality. It's great to see him in contention and makes the viewing more enjoyable and while I'm frustrated when it doesn't all come together for him in any given week that pales in comparison to his own frustartion.

I'd love to see him pick up a second major this week or whenever and push him up the golf hierarchy even more. The Ryder Cup would also be more enjoyable for me with Shane in the team to watch out for and cheer on.

willabur

Open Question:

Which American golfer is most like Shane in terms of Talent & Success?

The Big Easy

willabur wrote: »

Open Question:

Which American golfer is most like Shane in terms of Talent & Success?

Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson or Patrick Reed

Webb and Patrick have more PGA Tour wins but they've played the tour much longer.

Reed is probably more talented than Shane and will win more over his career.

Webb is very consistent and having a career renaissance right now but I'd have Shane up there with him on ability and probably success when all is said and done.

I reckon Shane is a better golfer than Woodland yet Gary has big reputation and is currently ranked lower than Shane.

gypsy79

The Big Easy wrote: »

Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson or Patrick Reed

Webb and Patrick have more PGA Tour wins but they've played the tour much longer.

Reed is probably more talented than Shane and will win more over his career.

Webb is very consistent and having a career renaissance right now but I'd have Shane up there with him on ability and probably success when all is said and done.

I reckon Shane is a better golfer than Woodland yet Gary has big reputation and is currently ranked lower than Shane.

Reed > Simpson > Lowry > Woodland

willabur

The Big Easy wrote: »

Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson or Patrick Reed

Webb and Patrick have more PGA Tour wins but they've played the tour much longer.

Reed is probably more talented than Shane and will win more over his career.

Webb is very consistent and having a career renaissance right now but I'd have Shane up there with him on ability and probably success when all is said and done.

I reckon Shane is a better golfer than Woodland yet Gary has big reputation and is currently ranked lower than Shane.

webb is a great shout

fullstop

The Big Easy wrote: »

Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson or Patrick Reed

Webb and Patrick have more PGA Tour wins but they've played the tour much longer.

Reed is probably more talented than Shane and will win more over his career.

Webb is very consistent and having a career renaissance right now but I'd have Shane up there with him on ability and probably success when all is said and done.

I reckon Shane is a better golfer than Woodland yet Gary has big reputation and is currently ranked lower than Shane.

Simpson & Reed are streets ahead of Lowry. The only similarity is number of majors. Both are consistently up around the top end of leaderboards.

Woodland is a good shout. Will contend the odd time, few wins but spells where he loses form as well.

The Big Easy

fullstop wrote: »

Simpson & Reed are streets ahead of Lowry. The only similarity is number of majors. Both are consistently up around the top end of leaderboards.

Woodland is a good shout. Will contend the odd time, few wins but spells where he loses form as well.

Reed was a bit tongue in cheek. Really rate Webb but I don't think he's streets ahead of Lowry. He lost form for a bit with the new putting rules and I think Shane can match his success and even surpass it with another major.

fullstop

The Big Easy wrote: »

Reed was a bit tongue in cheek. Really rate Webb but I don't think he's streets ahead of Lowry. He lost form for a bit with the new putting rules and I think Shane can match his success and even surpass it with another major.

Simpson in 2021;
Events = 13
Cuts Made = 13
Top 10 = 4
Top 20 = 8

Simpson in 2020;
Events = 14
Cuts Made = 12
Wins = 2
Top 10 = 8
Top 20 = 11

Lowry in 2021;
Events = 16
Cuts Made = 13
Top 10 = 2
Top 20 = 3

Lowry in 2020;
Events = 13
Cuts Made = 9
Top 10 = 1
Top 20 = 2

Simpson comfortably the better player over the last 18 months. 12 top 10s (including 2 wins) versus 3 top 10s for Lowry.

vapor trails

Jesus V Pints

Luckycharm

willabur wrote: »

Open Question:

Which American golfer is most like Shane in terms of Talent & Success?

Actually his career wouldn't be hugely different to Keegan Bradley both same age, 1 major each, seem be very inconsistent but can win tournaments and then go back to missing cuts.

dublin49

would any golf pro put USPGA above their 4th pick if offered one major.

eagle eye

dublin49 wrote:

would any golf pro put USPGA above their 4th pick if offered one major.

A major is a major, if you offered them any major they'd bite your hand off.

The Big Easy

dublin49 wrote: »

would any golf pro put USPGA above their 4th pick if offered one major.

Probably.

There's always a couple of Americans who can't really be bothered playing the Open. They're few and far between nowadays, but I can remember one or two who didn't bother travelling when they had qualified.

dublin49

two pars on the par 5s,50 yard chips on both and doesnt birdie one of them.His renowned short game needs to sharpen.

Neewollah

Chipping and putting not sharp enough. Has had some great opportunities to build a score to hold onto ahead of the tough stretch on the back 9

dublin49

dublin49 wrote: »

two pars on the par 5s,50 yard chips on both and doesnt birdie one of them.His renowned short game needs to sharpen.

You love criticising poor Shane don't you. Easy playing Kiawah and all these championship courses from the sofa.

dublin49

Exactly wrote: »

You love criticising poor Shane don't you. Easy playing Kiawah and all these championship courses from the sofa.

I am not criticising him,its a Lowry discussion thread and I am discussing his current round,I am rooting for him as much as anyone on here ,he is driving the ball well today as well.there you go.

gypsy79

Exactly wrote: »

You love criticising poor Shane don't you. Easy playing Kiawah and all these championship courses from the sofa.

No some people like to provide balance against the cheer leading. To be honest I find myself doing it

I turned off golf earlier but twice I heard reference his short game. Stats say it is no longer true

EDIT: Sorry I should add while the island other top golfer is criticised at every turn

gypsy79

gypsy79 wrote: »

No some people like to provide balance against the cheer leading. To be honest I find myself doing it

I turned off golf earlier but twice I heard reference his short game. Stats say it is no longer true

EDIT: Sorry I should add while the island other top golfer is criticised at every turn

There are lies damned lies and statistics.

Lowry has played superbly from tee to green, without due reward on the greens. Missed a rake of nine and ten-footers, short stick tormenting him. On another day he's four or five under, needs to keep the head and hopefully those same putts will drop tomorrow.

dublin49

great scrambling on tough 15th to save par,great if he can get home in par.

tobsey

Real shame he compounded the bad luck with a poor bunker shot. Did all the right things to give him a chance of a 4 but seemed to play the third very badly. It looked ok in the flat of the bunker so not sure what happened.

dublin49

Deleted User wrote: »

Plugged lie on 17 adding insult to injury, damage limitation exercise. Ah Shane. Back at it tomorrow with renewed vigour, all is not lost.

course is a brute so anywhere below par for weekend will do,bad break on 17th ,hope he can par 18th and reset for tomorrow.

Magnificent bird on the last, he gave that a right fist pump. One finally dropped, lovely.

dublin49

brilliant birdie on hardest hole 18.takes some of the hurt out of 17th.Commentators reckon they might get the best of the weather tomorrow so all to play for.

eagle eye

His performance on the par 5's is what's killing him. He is way down the rankings on the PGA tour for par 5 scoring and it's continued in this tournament where he was level par for them today.
The top 15 in this tournament have two players -1 for the par fives, the rest are -2 or better for them.

gypsy79

We asked where does he rank against current US golfers....A better question might be where would he rank versus Irish golfers of old?

My initial thoughts were Darren Clarke but quick google and he has someway to go to have a similar career overall. Maybe it was the fact that Darren won his major when he was on way down that altered my memory of where he was in the game

On this forum, Shane has his lovers. His common man appeal. And they elevate him way above his station which causes it to look like people like me are pedantically fighting and rooting against him. We are just realists!

The Big Easy

Very good first round from Shane in difficult conditions late in the day. been the story of his season so far with hardly any of the 8-12 feet range dropping for birdie. His game remains in good shape though and hopefully he goes out and shoots something under par today to put him in good shape for the weekend.

OEP

gypsy79 wrote: »

We asked where does he rank against current US golfers....A better question might be where would he rank versus Irish golfers of old?

My initial thoughts were Darren Clarke but quick google and he has someway to go to have a similar career overall. Maybe it was the fact that Darren won his major when he was on way down that altered my memory of where he was in the game

On this forum, Shane has his lovers. His common man appeal. And they elevate him way above his station which causes it to look like people like me are pedantically fighting and rooting against him. We are just realists!

He comes after GMac and Darren Clarke when ranking against the recent Irish golfers. And he's a bit behind them too but can make up ground obviously.

Birdie - Birdie start from the Open Champion.

Shane off to a flier, two birdies to open his second round. Fingers crossed the fickle blade stays true today.

CMcsporty

Flushing it with his Irons.
So is Harrington

Glorious

Mac_Lad71

Shane striking it beautifully...needs putter to stay hot.

finglashoop

lads where is this on tv?

have sky full coverage or do i need to put on a us channel?

prawnsambo

finglashoop wrote: »

lads where is this on tv?

have sky full coverage or do i need to put on a us channel?

Sky.

boardise

CMcsporty wrote: »

Flushing it with his Irons.
So is Harrington

Glorious

These two giving us a great platform for the w/end at this stage .
Harrington playing a fine controlled game but jeez -his putting from the 6-8 ft range is really flaky.. Could easily be outright leading by now.

eagle eye

gypsy79 wrote:

We asked where does he rank against current US golfers....A better question might be where would he rank versus Irish golfers of old?

He's been top 50 in the world for quite a while now. That's how you decide how good he is.

gypsy79 wrote:

My initial thoughts were Darren Clarke but quick google and he has someway to go to have a similar career overall. Maybe it was the fact that Darren won his major when he was on way down that altered my memory of where he was in the game

Darren Clarke spent a lot more time on the European tour playing in weaker fields so he'll have a better European tour record.
On the world stage Clarke won the WGC matchplay and another WGC event. Outside of that he won one tournament on the PGA tour.
Lowry has a WGC win and they both have an Open win. Outside of the Masters Lowry has played very well in Majors, Clarke played well in a couple of Majors.

I don't see much between them, I think they're very comparable and in more ways that just golf performance as they both struggled with their weight too and both were massively talented and probably didn't ever reach the heights they could have. Lowry still has time to change that.

gypsy79 wrote:

On this forum, Shane has his lovers. His common man appeal. And they elevate him way above his station which causes it to look like people like me are pedantically fighting and rooting against him. We are just realists!

I'm certainly not a huge Lowry fan, I like him but feel he should work harder to keep his weight under control and I believe he'd be more consistent if he did.
I do think you like to be controversial or you dislike him for some reason. There's often a remark in your posts, like a dig at Lowry.

LuckyGent88

Great par save on that 16th hole after visiting the beach with his drive!!

Mac_Lad71

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Great par save on that 16th hole after visiting the beach with his drive!!

Unreal...hope he can hole the putt on 17 after a good bunker shot.

Mac_Lad71

Get in..great save.

dublin49

great first 9,played in -1,would be great if him and Haro were out together late on Sunday ,

TheCitizen

1 under for the day. Even par for the championship. 5 behind Mickleson that’s good going.