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Shane Lowry has not yet won the Race to Dubai. It is a season-long competition for the DP World Tour in which legendary golfers and newcomers alike compete and earn points to eventually become the top-ranked player on the circuit.
Lowry was asked after a round at the Irish Open if one goal of his was to someday win either the Race to Dubai or the Order of Merit. He said he'd "love" to do it, but there's one issue.
Lowry was quoted as saying by ASAP Sports:
"I don't think I play enough in Europe to do it. I think you need to have a really good major season and win one of the big events, as well, in Europe. Rory is a long way ahead this year. Looks like he's going to win another one."
The 37-year-old reiterated that that is something he would totally love to do, acknowledging that he has had chances to do it before. The Irishman cited 2018 and another season in which he was top five but fell short.
He went on to "be completely honest" and say:
"The way the game is now, it's hard to, you set out your goals at the start of the year, the major season really needs to be kind to you. Because I am playing quite a bit now towards the end of the year but I probably need to win every tournament between now and then to do it to catch Rory."
The Order of Merit is another points-based scoring system that Lowry has yet to finish on top of, but he would like to achieve that someday.
Shane Lowry opens up on challenges at Irish Open
Shane Lowry, if he's to win the Race to Dubai rankings, will need to do well at the Irish Open. He's competing alongside Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, and some other PGA Tour players, and it's been difficult so far.
Lowry is tied for 20th presently. After a round, he was asked about the conditions, and he lamented how challenging the course was (via ASAP Sports):
"Even good shots might not get rewarded out there. The greens are very narrow. Lots of run-offs. So you really need to be careful where you're missing your shots, and even like I said, some good shots can get punished... Bogey at worst and get on with it."
He added that birdies are very hard to find in the Irish Open this year. Shane Lowry said:
"You need to take care of the par 5s. If you don't do that, you feel like you're behind the black ball. That's what this course is about. If you can do that, I feel like if you can take care of the par 5s on 16, you probably shoot a good score."
So far, Matteo Manessaro is leading the pack with six under (five under in the second round) through 17 holes today.
