TOUR NEWS EUROPEAN OPEN:SHANE LOWRY, Ireland and Europe's newest golf star, is determined to make the right impression on and off the course in his new career.
The 22-year-old takes his first steps as a professional this week 11 days after a fairytale win in the Irish Open, the first achieved by an amateur on his European Tour debut.
Now he plays for money for the first time in the European Open at the London Club in Kent – and Lowry did not think it appropriate to arrive as if he were a superstar already.
Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell had been prepared to pick him up in their private jet, but the Offaly man said: “What would it look like?
“I think the media would have a field day with that one, to be honest.
“I didn’t even hear about it until I landed here yesterday. Obviously I wouldn’t have taken it up.”
Nor was he interested in appearing in the pro-am alongside celebrities like Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and rowing great Steve Redgrave.
“Me and Conor (his manager Conor Ridge) felt it was in my best interests not to play it and just chill out for a day,” he said.
“I think we just felt like it would have been a bit much too soon.
“It’s been madness over the last couple of weeks. I’m just starting to calm down now, and I just can’t wait to get out on the course, to be honest. It’s a lot more peaceful out there.
“But it can’t be a bad thing to have had all the attention. I’ve enjoyed it and hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”
He tees off with veteran compatriot Paul McGinley and England’s Anthony Wall in the first two rounds, and is aware of the need to mind his language after on-course microphones at County Louth picked up some colourful phrases.
“It happens. It was in the heat of things,” he said. “I was trying so hard to win and I’m sure I’ll have to calm down a little bit.
“I just got caught up in things and because it was me that day I suppose it was highlighted more.
“Me and Conor just had a chat about it and it’s fine now.”
He can expect to be fined by the tour if it happens again.
Lowry fits into the Colin Montgomerie style of preparation in that he prefers not to spend endless hours on the range.
“It’s the way I’ve been since I start playing,” he explained. “If I have a couple of hours spare in the evening I would rather play nine holes than hit balls.
“It’s just the way I am and I don’t feel like I have to change that just because I’m out here on Tour.”
The countless calls he received after his emotional play-off victory over Robert Rock included one from President McAleese.
“She rang and I got a missed call,” he said. “I had to ring the office back.
“I had a few missed calls from Pádraig Harrington as well, but I thought that was a wind-up and that’s why I didn’t reply at first.”
Asked what his immediate goals were, Lowry replied: “Just go out and enjoy it.
“I know I made the right decision (to turn pro rather than wait for September’s Walker Cup). And everyone around me knows I made the right decision, so I’m happy enough.
“Professional golf was all I wanted to do and it was the right time to do it.”
Lowry could certainly have chosen an easier event to start with. The star-studded field includes Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Masters champion Angel Cabrera, Lee Westwood, John Daly, Colin Montgomerie and Ross Fisher, winner by seven on the course last year.
Fisher won around €450,000 – less than the amount Lowry could not accept two weeks ago – but first prize this weekend is €341,220.
That is a sign of the times even in the lucrative world of professional sport.
There is no title sponsor again, although Dubai-based Leisurecorp do have an interest, and Keith Waters, the European Tour’s director of international policy, said: “Because hospitality and sponsorship was down it was agreed to reduce the purse.”
But the size of the crowd should create a buzz – free tickets were made available under a voucher scheme for all four days and 70,000 were applied for.
Along with McGinley, McIlroy and McDowell, Lowry is joined in the field by Damien McGrane, Darren Clarke, Gareth Maybin, Gary Murphy, Michael Hoey and Peter Lawrie.
European Open
Course: The London Golf Club, Ash, Kent.
Length: 7,257 yards. Par: 72.
Prizemoney: €2 million, €341,220 for the winner.
Field: Strong.
Defending champion: Ross Fisher
First played: 1978, won by Bobby Wadkins.
Irish wins: Darren Clarke, 2001, K Club.
On TV: Sky Sports 1, 10am-1pm, Sky Sports 2 3pm-6pm.
Weather: Dry all weekend, 20C.
