Time to reset for Shane Lowry, and to get going again. While the jig of pure delight that accompanied his putt on the 18th in his singles with Russell Henley to retain the Ryder Cup added yet another storied feat to his career, the Offaly man gets his season up-and-running in the Dubai Invitational at the Creek resort in the UAE with the aim of getting back on the winning trail.
Of that Bethpage moment back in September, Lowry admitted: “That topped it all off for me. At the start of the year, if you had told me I was going to do that, I wouldn’t have cared about anything else I did.”
Roll on 2026 and Lowry is teeing it up for the first time in the Dubai Invitational – a tournament confined to just 60 professionals but also with a pro-am dimension for the first three days – where he will be looking for a first win on the European Tour since his BMW PGA Championship success in 2022. His last win anywhere came in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2024, when he partnered Rory McIlroy to success.
“I’ve week-to-week goals and then long-term goals, you set them all and you try and hit your goals along the way. I’d like to contend in a couple of majors this year and give myself a couple of chances in regular events as well and to try to get a win in the near future would be ideal,” said Lowry.
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Why not this week? One of his six career wins on the DP World Tour came in the Abu Dhabi Championship (in 2019) and he has contended frequently in tournaments in Dubai, including the Desert Classic and the Tour Championship.
Of getting back into the winner’s circle, Lowry – now 38 and entering his 18th season on the tour – remarked: “I think obviously there’s parts of my game that I could improve on. But for the most part, I think my game was really, really good (in 2025) and I think it’s all about being myself. I’ve been around a long time now and I know what works for me. Just keep being me and see what happens.”
Lowry has been drawn alongside Rory McIlroy for the first two rounds of the Dubai Invitational, where Tom McKibbin – winner of the Hong Kong Open back in November and playing on the DP World Tour’s early swing before returning to LIV – and Pádraig Harrington, playing on a sponsor’s invitation, are also in action.
Tommy Fleetwood was also a key member of Europe’s winning team in Bethpage and he will be defending a title he won in 2024, the last time the tournament was played.
Fleetwood, a resident in the UAE, is more familiar than most with the Creek layout – he produced a birdie-birdie finish to pip McIlroy to the title two years ago – and has risen to a career-best world ranking of third, aided by his win in the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship to claim thee FedEx Cup last season which was followed by a win in the DP World India Championship.
Of chasing down world number one Scottie Scheffler and number two McIlroy to climb to number one, Fleetwood said:
“I would love to. There is a clear gap, those two guys are definitely the best golfers in the world. I’m just one of the players in the pack behind that has some catching up to do there. I look at every aspect of my game, where I can improve, where I can pick the smallest amount of shots up to those guys.
“But it’s an amazing challenge, if you think of it like that. Starting the year in a different position than I’ve ever been, world number three, and I think that’s very cool and very exciting to have to think about trying to maintain the level that I’ve reached there.”
Lowdowns
Dubai Invitational
DP World Tour
Purse: €2.35 million (€410,000 to the winner)
Where: Dubai, UAE
The course: The Dubai Creek resort course – 7,059 yards Par 71 – originally opened in 1993 and previously hosted the Dubai Desert Classic (in 1999 and 2000) but underwent a significant redesign by European Golf Design in association with Thomas Bjorn with the new layout coming into play in 2004. The course has a reputation for its immaculate conditioning but is short by modern standards and pin placements play an important part in its protection. There are a number of drivable Par 4s, including the 350-yard 17th, and the expectation is of a birdie fest. Tommy Fleetwood was 19-under-par when winning in 2024, the last time the tournament was played.
The field: No doubt about the star attraction, with world number two Rory McIlroy – who lived in the emirate for almost four years in the early part of his professional career – starting his season with back-to-back weeks in Dubai. McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood were all team-mates in last year’s Ryder Cup success at Bethpage for Europe and get their year’s work going here in a tournament that has a limited professional field (just 60 players) and with a pro-am element as well. Jayden Schaper is looking for a third straight win on the DP World Tour after collecting the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritius Open titles in successive weeks before the Christmas break.
Quote-Unquote: “I still look at it as big picture and try to be the best golfer I can be, and I think there’s plenty of room for improvement still. No doubt last year was an amazing year for me and by the time the year was done, found myself like in a position in the game where I’ve never been before in terms of World Ranking and stuff like that, and the win on the PGA Tour was huge. You sort of don’t want the season to start but the break is a nice thing as well. That’s been great. I’m just looking forward to getting going ahead and sticking to the same stuff and try to continue to get better” – World number three Tommy Fleetwood on looking to maintain the momentum of a standout season in 2025 which saw him win the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour.
Irish in the field: Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have a nice pairing together (off the 10th, at 5.30am Irish time) for the first round, Pádraig Harrington is paired with Paul Waring (off the 10th, 5.41am); and Tom McKibbin is in the last group away (off the 10th, 7.09am).
Betting: Rory McIlroy starts the year in familiar territory as the market leader at 7/2 with UAE resident Tommy Fleetwood a 5/1 shot and Nicolai Hojgaard and Jayden Schaper each at 16s. Shane Lowry is 18/1 and Tom McKibbin 22/1. On a course where accuracy and strategy is likely to be important, Grant Forrest is worth an each-way look at 90/1.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports Golf from 7.30am.
Sony Open
PGA Tour
Purse: €7.75 million (€1.4 million to the winner)
Where: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
The course: Waialae Country Club – Par 70 7,044 yards – has been recently updated by Tom Doak (the original design was by Seth Raynor) and features tree-lined fairways, small greens and 83 bunkers but is historically a low-scoring layout and, even with the alterations, that is unlikely to change. Justin Thomas holds the course record with a 59.
The field: Four of the world’s top-10 – Russell Henley (fifth), JJ Spaun (sixth), Robert MacIntyre (seventh) and Ben Griffin (eighth) – are in the field for the PGA Tour’s opening event of the season. Canadian Nick Taylor is the defending champion.
Irish in the field: Séamus Power didn’t manage to retain his full tour card but has earned a spot in the field thanks to his top-10 finish in the RSM Classic last November (which closed out the Fall Series). The Waterford man is grouped with Sahith Theegala and Kristoffer Reitan (off the 10th, at 5.32pm Irish time) for the first round.
Betting: Russell Henley is the market lead at 12/1 with US Open champion JJ Spaun at 18/1. Séamus Power is rated a 90/1 shot which is worth an each-way look. Norway’s big-hitting Kristoffer Reitan – who closed out last year with a win in the Nedbank in Sun City – is also worth an each-way look at 50/1.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm.
