1 week Ago By Vincent Whelan
SHANE Lowry’s wife Wendy has given a sneak peek around the plush surroundings of Augusta National.The famously exclusive club is the centre of the sporting world once again this week as The Masters tees off on Thursday.@wendyirislowryTheir accommodation is akin to a scene out of Desperate Housewives with how picturesque everything is[/caption]@wendyirislowryShe caught up with close pal Clare Fleetwood, wife of Tommy[/caption]@wendyirislowryWhile Rory McIlroy’s spouse Erica Stoll and Justin Rose’s other half Kate featured in this sunny snap[/caption]@wendyirislowryShane is a 25/1 shot with bookmakers to end up wearing the Green Jacket on Sunday evening[/caption]While the bulk of the talk among the Irish media this week has as usual been dominated by Rory McIlroy’s eternal quest to complete the career Grand Slam, Shane might be the better bet to triumph.
He has top-25 finishes at Augusta National in four of the past five years, including T-3 in 2022.His good form across 2025 so far has seen him rise to a career-high 12th in the world rankings.It’s been confirmed that he will play alongside 2021 champ Hideki Matsuyama and two-time US Open champion Bryson Dechambeau for the opening two rounds.
Lowry has an Irish start time of 6.23 pm on Thursday while the Down native will be out ten minutes earlier alongside Swedish starlet Ludvig Aberg and American Akshay Bhatia.Speaking on Tuesday, McIlroy addressed his chances of adding a Masters victory to his Open, US Open and two USPGA triumphs.
During the press conference he was flanked by two giant pictures of himself in action at Augusta.The caption read: “Rory McIlroy, Holywood, Northern Ireland, 17th appearance, best finish 2 (2022).”If Rory is to sit in the media centre next April with that last line changed to ‘best finish 1 (2025)’, he must prove he can handle the weight of expectation, which gets heavier every year.
But McIlroy, 35, feels he has never been better equipped to shrug off his past heartbreak in Georgia — none more painful than his 2011 meltdown when he threw away a four-shot lead with a final-round 80. Ahead of teeing off tomorrow, he said: “I’ve shown a lot of resilience from setbacks and it’s something I’m really proud of.“You have disappointments but as long as you put those learnings into practice, I feel it is very important.
“When you have a long career like I’ve had, luckily, you learn to roll with the punches.“You take the good times and bad times, knowing if you do the right work — and practice right — those disappointments will turn into good times again pretty soon.“There was a time when I was less willing to get my heart broken by the game than I am now.
That is just a self-preservation mechanism.“It’s just where you’re trying to not put 100 per cent of yourself out there because of what might happen — and that happens in all walks of life.FEEL THE FEAR“At a certain point, someone doesn’t want to fall in love as they don’t want to get their heart broken.
“We hold back sometimes because of a fear of getting hurt — whether conscious or subconscious.“I was doing that on the golf course a little bit for a few years.“But once you go through those heartbreaks — as I call them — or disappointments, you get to a place where you remember how it feels and you wake up the next day and you’re like, ‘Yeah, life goes on’.
“‘It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be’.“I’ve gone through those times, especially in the last few years, where I’ve had chances to win some of the biggest tournaments and it hasn’t quite happened.“But life moves on.
You dust yourself off and go again.“That’s why I’ve become more comfortable in laying everything out there and being somewhat vulnerable at times.”.
