"Not Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy"- Shane Lowry makes hilarious comment on 'giving shots' to his friends

Shane Lowry will tee off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to compete in his inaugural Tour Championship. The Irishman arrives at the tournament following finishes of T50 and T13 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship, respectively.

Although competing in the Tour Championship for the first time is a positive for Shane Lowry, he faces the daunting challenge of chasing Scottie Scheffler, starting seven shots behind the World No. 1. Lowry offered a humorous take on the situation. He said,

“I give shots to my friends every day at home, but my friends are not Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. I think, yeah, 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 three-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." [via The Irish Times]

Although he has come close on several occasions, Lowry has not won a single tournament on the PGA Tour this season. The 37-year-old's 15-year experience as a professional golfer will come in handy at the East Lake Golf Club when he faces big names like Scheffler and Schauffele.

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A look at the full field for the 2024 Tour Championship ft. Shane Lowry

The Tour Championship will showcase a star-studded field, featuring the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup standings. Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy are among those set to compete.

The tournament will begin on August 29th and conclude on September 1. Here is the full field for the Tour Championship based on the stroke advantage:

1. Scottie Scheffler: 10 under
2. Xander Schauffele: 8 under
3. Hideki Matsuyama: 7 under
4. Keegan Bradley: 6 under
5. Ludvig Aberg: 5 under
6. Rory McIlroy: 4 under
7. Collin Morikawa: 4 under
8. Wyndham Clark: 4 under
9. Sam Burns: 4 under
10. Patrick Cantlay: 4 under
11. Sungjae Im: 3 under
12. Sahith Theegala: 3 under
13. Shane Lowry: 3 under
14. Adam Scott: 3 under
15. Tony Finau: 3 under
16. Byeong Hun An: 2 under
17. Viktor Hovland: 2 under
18. Russell Henley: 2 under
19. Akshay Bhatia: 2 under
20. Robert MacIntyre: 2 under
21. Billy Horschel: 1 under
22. Tommy Fleetwood: 1 under
23. Sepp Straka: 1 under
24. Matthieu Pavon: 1 under
25. Taylor Pendrith: 1 under
26. Chris Kirk: Even
27. Tom Hoge: Even
28. Aaron Rai: Even
29. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: Even
30. Justin Thomas: Even

This year's edition of the Tour Championship boasts a staggering purse of $100 million. The champion will walk away with a substantial $25 million. Additionally, the golfers finishing second and third will earn $12.5 million and $7.5 million, respectively.