“I was a little bit lost” – Shane Lowry back in the groove as Ryder Cup picks debated

"I've had two nice weeks, and hopefully I can build on this going forward now."

Shane Lowry started off 2022 by reeling off a string of tidy performances and high finishes. He finished no lower than 35th in a 10-tournament run that included four Top 10 finishes. One of those Top 10s was at the Masters. The CJ Cup and Hero World Challenge (23rd and 18th) are part of the 2022/23 golf season but his first competitive outing of the season saw him tie for 28th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He followed that up with missed cuts at the Dubai Desert Classic and WM Open in Phoenix. In the midst of all that, Lowry spoke about struggling to find a spark and he cut ties with Bo Martin, his caddy for more than four years. He needed to get his year going and did so at the Genesis with a 14th place finish. He climbed as high as second in the Honda Classic but eventually finished 7th in a tournament won by Chris Kirk in a playoff. It was enough to see him climb to 19th in the world rankings.

"I played lovely, and I just couldn't get it going," Lowry told reporters after his latest Top 10 finish. "I started to get uncomfortable on the greens early on, and that was the way it was the whole day. Disappointing, but I had a lot of positives to take from this week. Some nice FedExCup points. My golf game is in a place where I'm happy with it." "Like after my week in Phoenix," he added, "I was a little bit lost, and you're standing there, and I was 180th or something in the FedEx Cup [rankings]. You're like, 'I need to make some FedExCup points soon'. I've had two nice weeks, and hopefully I can build on this, going forward now."

[caption id="attachment_272607" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Shane Lowry of Ireland speaks to the media after winning the BMW PGA Championship, in September 2022. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)[/caption]

Shane Lowry makes predicted Ryder Cup team

The up-tick in form for Shane Lowry comes at a time when the Ryder Cup is starting to come into focus. In all likelihood, the Clara native will make the automatic qualification standard with room to spare. However, he would love to get that sorted as soon as possible with a big win or some high placings in the larger field tournaments. On the latest No Laying Up podcast, the hosts took their first dart at trying to predict 12 players for Team Europe in this year's Ryder Cup, which will be held in Italy in September. Irish golf fans will be thrilled to hear that Seamus Power was included in the teams selected, along with Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. Here was the 12 players, named in order of selection likelihood, listed by Kevin Van Valkenburg:

1. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
2. Jon Rahm (Spain)
3. Tommy Fleetwood (England)
4. Viktor Hovland (Norway)
5. Matt Fitzpatrick (England)
6. Shane Lowry (Ireland)
7. Alex Noren (Sweden)
8. Tyrrell Hatton (England)
9. Justin Rose (England)
10. Seamus Power (Ireland)
11. Sepp Straka (Austria)
12. Victor Perez (France)

Other names mentioned in the Team Europe chat were Yannik Paul (Germany), Adrian Otaegui (Spain), Rasmus Høgaard (Denmark), Bob MacIntyre (Scotland) and Guido Migliozzi (Italy). On Seamus Power, Van Valkenburg said, "I feel really comfortable with that. He's been playing really well. 28th in the world so weird to even think you could leave him off." The 2023 Ryder Cup takes place at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome from September 25 until October 1, this year. Check out the latest rankings HERE. Related articles:

• Shane Lowry confirms amicable split from caddie after four and a half year partnership
• Sergio Garcia laments Rory McIlroy for "lacking maturity"
• Full Swing: Best quotes, weirdest moments and wildest finishes from new Netflix documentary
• Rory McIlroy explains 'falling out' with Shane Lowry that lasted a few years

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