Shane Lowry stole the show during TGL’s promising debut
Shane Lowry may be built for these conditions.
Not the Ireland rain and wind that the 37-year-old grew up playing in — and won the 2019 British Open in — but the comfortable indoor arena that TGL debuted in Wednesday night.
Lowry’s wit was center stage as he cracked some hilarious one-liners — and played some pretty good golf, too — as the indoor league got off to a promising start.
The setup allows players to talk trash to each other and about themselves with fans in attendance to let them hear about it when a shot is misplayed.
Lowry declared at one point he wanted to to be the “Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf”
And then after a fat chip shot, which many players struggled with, he joked: “A bit like myself. A bit chunky,”
Lowry’s Bay Golf Club, with teammates Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Aberg, easily defeated the New York team of Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele.
“The last time I’ve had that much fun was probably last September,” Lowry said, while looking at Clark, who was not on his team when the Europeans dominated the Americans in the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Lowry had the pressure of hitting the opening tee shot into the massive 60-foot screen inside the 50,000-square-foot facility at Palm Beach State College.
The idea for the indoor league was the brain child of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were both in attendance for the big night.
“If hitting the first ever shot in TGL history tomorrow night wasn’t nerve-racking enough, imagine if I miss the 60ft screen,” Lowry wrote on X followed by a monkey covering its eyes emoji and a laughing emoji.
While the ball hit the screen and found the virtual fairway, it was not without its hiccups. The Irishman initially forgot a tee and ripped his earpiece out.
“I was a little bit nervous. Thank god the screen is big,” Lowry said.
