SHANE LOWRY TEES off for the first time at the Tour Championship today in Atlanta, his qualification representing a major breakthrough for the Offaly native.

Lowry is off at 5.49pm (Irish time) in his opening round, playing alongside Australian Adam Scott.

The 2019 Open champion had failed previously to be involved in the season-ending tournament that features the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup points list.

His absence from the action at East Lake GC in Atlanta had become a sore point.

“It’s almost embarrassing that I haven’t been here. I’ve been a pro a long time, but yeah, I haven’t been here. But it is nice to be here this week, and I feel like my game is okay.

Golf course is going to play quite difficult.

“It’s always a goal at the start of the year, and thankfully this year I got to fulfil it.”

Lowry enters the tournament in 13th in the FedEx Cup standings, a reward for a year that saw him win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Rory McIlroy in April, while also finishing sixth in two Majors, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship.

The scoring format for this week’s event sees him begin at -3, seven shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler.

“I give shots to my friends every day at home, but my friends are not Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. It is new, but a good start the first day and you’re back in the tournament.

“In my head I’m seeing it as like a five-round event that I’ve got 3-under the first round and I’m seven back of the leader and I need to kind of pick away at that over the four days and see where it leaves me on Sunday.

“There’s no doubt about it, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have had the best years of anyone and they’re by far ahead of everybody else. But they only start a couple of shots ahead of people this week.

But that’s the Playoffs. That’s American sports.

“We’re trying to make it as best as we can for the people watching, and as easy as it can be. I think it’s pretty good, and I think it’s worked well over the last few years.

“I certainly don’t deserve to come here to East Lake and start on the same score as Scottie Scheffler. But it’s up to me to try and make that up this week.”

Lowry has undergone an intense schedule of late, including featuring in Paris at the Olympics. There is no let-up as he is set to feature at The Irish Open (12-15 September), the BMW PGA Championship (19-22 September), and the Spanish Open (26-29 September).

“Yeah, it’s going to be hard. I’ve just done three weeks away from my family, my kids. I’m about to do another good run going back to Europe. That’s probably the most difficult part for me.

It’s nothing to do with the fatigue levels and the getting up for golf, but when you’re FaceTiming your kids and they’re asking you when you’re going to be home and it’s not going to be for another three weekends, that always gets hard.

“But it is what it is; that’s what we have to do. Going back to play the Irish Open and Wentworth is going to be two big tournaments for me. Irish Open means a lot to me, and Wentworth, I’ve done quite well there in the past and I really love the tournament.

“Going back and playing in those and then Madrid the week after, I have a big stint away, but after that I’ll have some time off. I’ll have plenty of time off this winter to get ready for 2025.”

He is looking forward to playing at Royal County Down for the Irish Open.

“Obviously going and playing the Irish Open, it’s always one of the weeks at the start of the year where I look and I want to perform that week.

Going to Royal County Down, I haven’t played there since we were there in 2015. Going back there is going to be cool.

“It’s obviously one of the great golf courses in the world, one of the great venues. I just hope we get some good weather. If we get some good weather it’ll be an amazing week.

“I’m going back next weekend. I get to play some links golf, so that’ll take a little bit of getting used to again, but looking forward to it.”

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Source: Tampa Bay Times