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Shane Lowry expresses regret at not competing at the Olympic Games

2016 has not turned out as Shane Lowry would have expected. Despite the second-place finish at th...



Shane Lowry expresses regret a...
Golf

Shane Lowry expresses regret at not competing at the Olympic Games

2016 has not turned out as Shane Lowry would have expected.

Despite the second-place finish at the US Open in June, Lowry has struggled this year and looks likely to be dependant on a wildcard from Europe captain Darren Clarke to qualify for his first Ryder Cup.

This time last year, Lowry seemed certain to make his Ryder Cup debut. The Offaly native had just won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and looked on-course to compete at Hazeltine National.

In his latest column for the Irish Times, Lowry claims he needs to win one of his next two tournaments, if he is to compete in Minnesota next month. The World number 36 is competing in the Wyndham Championship this week in Carolina.

"The reality is that I probably need a win this week or in Denmark next week if I’m to have any chance of making it to Hazeltine. To do that, I need to improve my results."

Lowry is in for a busy fortnight, with two Transatlantic trips in the hope of qualifying for the Ryder Cup. He claims the journeys will be worth it if he qualifies.

"The way I see it is that I have to give myself every chance of making the team. If I didn’t go to play in Denmark, I’d be thinking, ‘what if?’ and I don’t want that."

The Offaly native didn't compete in Rio at the Olympic Games and admitted he felt a since of regret by not competing in Brazil.

"I watched the finish to the Olympics on television on Sunday and there was a part of me wished I was there."

"I think it was good for the Olympics going forward that we had players like Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson going at it down the stretch and hopefully I’ll be there in 2020 in Tokyo."

The 2020 Olympic Games is already on Lowry's horizon, but he has closer objectives to pass, as he sets his sights on Minnesota.

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