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DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI

November 19, 2019

Shane Lowry

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

BRIONY CARLYON: Delighted to be joined by Open Champion, Shane Lowry. Good to have you here at the DP World TOUR Championship.

Pretty much been an incredible year for you. Major victory, now with a chance to win The Race to Dubai, as well. You're fourth in the rankings. Your thoughts on the year itself and looking ahead to this last week.

SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, it's obviously been an incredible year. You know, I suppose when I look back on it, when I sit down in a few weeks, I think, you know, obviously I'll have a lot of good stuff to look back on.

Really, as far as this week goes, I'm kind of just trying to solely focus on playing well this week and trying to give myself the best chance towards the end of the week to have a chance to win.

You know, I think just some obviously very good players up there and I think it's going to be quite difficult to do -- it will be quite difficult to win this week. There's a world-class field here this week. Obviously it's been a great year but my main focus right now is the next few days, and Thursday through Sunday trying to shoot the best scores I can.

BRIONY CARLYON: You've just come off the course after the Pro-Am and a practise round yesterday. How is the game feeling and looking ahead to the week itself.

SHANE LOWRY: It's okay. I'd be lying if I said it was great. I don't feel unbelievably comfortable out there, but it's good. You know, I think if I start -- I putted quite poorly the last couple weeks, so doing work to try to sort that out, and I think if I sort that out, I can have a good week.

Q. Where does the Order OF Merit fit in the grand scheme of things you would like to achieve? Where does it feature?
SHANE LOWRY: I suppose I've not really thought about it before the last few months. Like I did have a chance here in 2015, if I won the tournament, I could have won The Race to Dubai. I'm in a similar situation this week. I ended up finishing fifth that year.

Yeah, look, it would be great. You look at the names that are on the trophy and the people that have won it, I think anybody who is anybody in golf has won that trophy. Obviously it would be really, really nice. It would be icing on the cake to cap off what is a good year.

Q. Two-part question. Doug Ferguson special. The first part is: Koepka or Rory for Player of the Year, and second is, if there was one part of Rory's game that could somehow be given to you or would you most like to have, what would it be?
SHANE LOWRY: I think I would have voted for -- Rory I think Player of the Year. You look at the year he's had, even like up until -- even since the FedExCup, he's still doing unbelievably well.

Look, I played nine holes with him yesterday. It's easy to see why he's doing so well. He hits the ball unbelievably well and he's one of the best players in the world, and he has been for the last ten years.

Any part of his game that I would want? Be nice to be playing from 340 yards in the middle of the fairway on every hole. But I think the one thing that he's got, I think his carefree attitude, and the way he plays the game. I know he obviously does care about it, and just the way he looks, like he goes about his business, I'd love to be able to have that week-in and week-out. That's what most impressed me is how well he goes after bad shots and stuff like that.

Q. It must be a lovely feeling to be back in the Middle East when you consider where you were as you arrived in Abu Dhabi in January. If someone had said to you then, that you would be sitting here with this scenario now, what would your thought process have been?
SHANE LOWRY: I probably would have laughed a little bit. Obviously I would have taken your hand off for what I've done this year has been -- it's been incredible. Not that I didn't ever think that I could do something like I did. I suppose the big thing is Portrush, and to be able to achieve something like that is just -- obviously it's amazing and it's like a dream. It's a dream come true, really.

But the thing is that I try not to let myself think about it too much and try not to dwell on that. You know, when this week finishes, I'll be able to sit back -- look, I'll be able to sit back next week with my Claret Jug and be happy with what I have. But I'm trying to do as well as I can this week.

The one thing that's gotten me over the few months since The Open is, you know, when you have bad days and you're shooting bad scores, people saying to you, "You won The Open, it doesn't matter." But it does matter. Every day it matters to me and I want to shoot the best score I can and I want to be the best player I can be every day.

I'm going to go out and give my best this week and no matter what happens, I will be sitting back next week with a major trophy in my cabinet this year, and I'll be happy with what I have. But it would be incredible to add European No. 1 to that list, as well.

Q. Though you try not to think about it too much, do you automatically feel different?
SHANE LOWRY: No, that's the incredible thing is since The Open I actually don't feel any different. If you had told me before, were things going to change and would you feel different, I would have said yes.

You know, it is incredible, and that's something that -- I know I stood on the first tee today, in the Pro-Am today and the Claret Jug is on the first tee and I walk down the fairway, I said to the lad, Neil, my coach and Bo was there, and I said, kind of just take it for granted, don't you, that it's just sitting there and it's mine.

I don't feel any different. I don't feel any different as a player, as a person. Honestly I don't feel like it's changed me in any way. It's obviously changed my career path a little bit, but as a person, I don't feel any different. I don't think it's changed me.

Q. Could go the other way, feeling increased pressure as a Major Champion?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, but I've always put the most pressure over myself over the years. I've always done that. I've always been very critical of myself and when I play golf, and so yeah, I've always put pressure on myself. I don't feel like I'm putting anymore pressure on myself to do well. You know, I don't really look outside what other people think.

You know, I just go with what I'm doing and yeah, just try and do my best.

Q. You said before that you would be lying if you said your game was great. If you had the same question on the Tuesday before Abu Dhabi or Portrush, would the answer have been different?
SHANE LOWRY: Pretty similar, I'd say. I remember the Tuesday of The Open, I definitely wasn't too happy with how I was playing but when I look back on it, I was actually playing okay.

You know, so I think this is -- I'm almost better or more dangerous when my -- when I'm a little bit uncomfortable out there and when I have to focus and concentrate a little bit more.

Like I'll give you an example. I was in Turkey a couple of weeks ago on Friday and it was the easiest 65 I ever shot on my life, and I just expected to go out and do it on Saturday and Sunday, and I shoot two 75s. That sort of low expectation and anxiousness is no harm when it come to my game and focuses me on targets and really gets me fighting for my scores. But we'll see. We'll see how it goes.

Q. We saw where you were playing with Rory yesterday having a bit of a match. What's your relationship like with Rory, and who took the money?
SHANE LOWRY: Well, he took the money quite easily yesterday. But yeah, got a good relationship with Rory. We spent a few months down where he lives in Palm Beach, and you know, we were both here last week. We went out to dinner Friday night together. Went out for dinner. We would have had dinner in New York together during the first FedEx.

So whenever Rory and Erica are out and Wendy is with me, we try to get dinner once that week or whatever. Then when we're back home in Florida, we try and catch up, as well. Play at the Bear's Club with members there and play some golf on weeks off. Yeah, I've got a good relationship with him.

Q. Is there any level of your game you would like to improve? Is it technical or mind or whatever that you can tell in few words to reach another level?
SHANE LOWRY: I think I've shown this year what I have is good enough obviously when it's good. I think a little bit more consistency I want to have, would be nice. You know, every day I go out there, every day I go out to practise and every day I go out to play, I'm trying to get better. I'm trying to sharpen up my game and trying to become more consistent. It's not as easy thinking, right, I want to be more consistent and being able to go out and shoot 68 every day. You have to work for what you get.

The one thing I do, and the one thing I've always done is I feel like once I go to bed at night, if I've done something to try and improve that game, I'm happy. That's what I do.

But yeah, any part of my game I'd like to improve, I think my game holds up under a lot of pressure, and it has done this year. So I wouldn't be trying to improve anything. It would just be kind of mentally and I'm on, I'm really good. So it's just about getting mentally in that zone more weeks every year.

Q. Next year looking ahead to Abu Dhabi, can you reflect on how important that win was for you kicking on, and also, are you playing all three Desert Swing events? Do you think it will be a case of having to reset emotionally to kick on next year?
SHANE LOWRY: Yeah, look, Abu Dhabi really kick-started my year this year. It was kind of the steppingstone into what I achieved. Look, Abu Dhabi in itself is a huge tournament, and for me to go out and win that, I was sort of -- you kind of, start of the year, you're kind of like no matter what happens the rest of the year, I've won, and my goal was to win this year and I won the first tournament, so I was kind of like, right, reset and I was back in a big tournament.

It definitely did kind of kick-start my year and gave me a great steppingstone and a great boost of confidence going forward. As far as next year, I'm playing Abu Dhabi and I'm playing Saudi. I'm playing two out of the three. The way my schedule is next year is quite busy, so yeah, looking forward to going back.

Q. Do you think it will be a challenge to reset emotionally after what's been your career year?
SHANE LOWRY: I don't think so. I think I'll go back, I'll do what I do every December, and just kind of try and get fresh and try and really put this year behind me, if you know what I mean. I'm going to try and enjoy it, but put it behind me and try and set some goals for next year and move on and see what I can do then next year. Because obviously next year is going to be a big year for me, as well, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the challenge of it.

But I don't think it will be. Look, I've never been in this situation. I've never won major before. This is my first time. It's all new. It's all learning. As long as I learn and keep going and keep moving forward, I'm happy enough.

BRIONY CARLYON: Shane, thank you for your time.

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