GAME NEEDS A SPARK – LOWRY
SHANE LOWRY reckons golf is in ‘a mad’ place entering a ‘pivotal’ year which sees the Irishman part of the influential player advisory board on the PGA Tour ‘It’s a big year for the sport,’ said the 2019 Open champion. This time last year did we think the sport would be in the position it is now? No, I don’t think anyone did.”
‘It’s mad to be a part of. Although it is very exciting, it is pivotal for golf.’
‘Does golf need a bit of a shake up? I don’t know, but it is certainly getting one.
A legal hearing next month will decide whether the DP World Tour can ban players who have defected to LIV Golf.
The outcome could mean such stalwarts as Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson are playing their last events on the tour, starting with the €9m Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship tomorrow.
‘As long as I’ve known golf it has been the same way; 72hole tournaments all over the world, 40-odd tournaments a year on both tours which, probably, I disagree with.
‘We need to create something that gets people excited more often with the game,’ said Lowry.
How the turmoil of golf exploded in 2022 will feature in the new fly-on-the-wall Netflix series — The Full Swing, launching on February 15.
‘The Netflix thing is going to be huge,’ Lowry said. ‘At the start I didn’t want to get involved, didn’t fancy it. I might regret that when I see how good it’s probably going to be.’
Lowry, Séamus Power, Padraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin are part of a highcalibre field in Abu Dhabi which carries a winner’s cheque in excess of €1.5m.
Harrington, 51, is looking to become the oldest winner on the DP World Tour. He finished six shots behind Thomas Pieters last year.
Poulter has hinted he would consider not competing in the Ryder Cup even if he qualifies for the European team in Rome.
‘I would love to qualify. Whether I play or not would be a different thing,’ said Poulter in Abu Dhabi. ‘I certainly don’t expect to get one of the six (captain’s) picks.’