Shane Lowry has delivered Dubai Duty Free Irish Open organisers a huge boost confirming he will contest the event later this month at Galgorm Castle resort in Ballymena, however the news wasn’t so good for this year’s BMW Championship.
Lowry had been undecided if he’ll contest the September 24th starting Irish Open that will be played under a continuing European Tour COVID-19 defence policy of no spectators.
The reigning Open champ, however, confirmed his intentions to tee-up in Ireland’s premier event ahead of his week’s Safeway Open in California starting Thursday in the heatwave conditions of Napa Valley, but admits he will give one of his favourite venues in Wentworth a miss for this year’s BMW PGA Championship.
“I am going to play the Irish Open, so I will head home after the U.S. Open next week and head straight up north to Galgorm,” he said.
“I am then going to take some time off.
“I would like to play Wentworth but it doesn’t make sense for me to go over and play the BMW PGA one week, and then have to travel back to Ireland and quarantine for two weeks.
“It is just something that I cannot do as I have been away from my family for too long and I am missing an important stage of my daughter’s life, and that’s not been nice, but it was it is.
“So, yes, I’m playing the Irish Open and then I will come back Stateside.”
Lowry is contesting Safeway Open, the opening event of the 2020/21 PGA Tour wraparound schedule, for the first time in his career. In a normal year, Lowry would be back home planning to tackle European Tour events in Portugal, Scotland, Ireland, Turkey, South African and Dubai.
The current World No. 28, however, has now been Stateside since mid-February with his family having returned home some six weeks ago leaving Lowry to look after himself – though he does have caddy Brian ‘Bo’ Martin with him as company.
“I’m managing to cope by myself (smiling), and I’m still alive, but it’s been hard,” Lowry said.
“The girls went home about six-and-a-half weeks ago, so it’s not been easy at times as I miss them an awful lot, and if it wasn’t for the U.S. Open next week, I would not have lasted this long over here without them.
“So, it’s the U.S. Open next week and then home the week after.”
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