When Shane Lowry famously won the Irish Open as an amateur at Baltray in 2009, he’d just celebrated his 22nd birthday a few weeks earlier. Rory McIlroy was the first golfer onto the green to congratulate him having just exited his teenage years earlier that month.
When Lowry joined McIlroy on two national titles with his stunning destruction of Doonbeg over the last few days, he ensured that he would defend his title in his 40s. McIlroy will only have two years to go to that particular landmark when that tournament rolls around at a yet to be confirmed earlier summer 2027 date.
Much debate exists over when professional golfers peak but the accepted wisdom is around 30 to 35. The tail-end of a player’s career rebels against the usual sporting truth though. That expected gradual decline may last well over a decade and it’s not always fatal to chances of success.
Phil Mickelson won a major at 50, Tiger Woods wore a green jacket at 43. Does anyone really want to bet against McIlroy still being good enough to add to his major haul in 2036?
But while neither Lowry nor McIlroy are next to near finished and can expect to dominate the Irish men’s golf headlines for years to come, those two Lowry Irish Open triumphs – and the 17 years between them – feel like a bookend between a set of cubs heading off on a journey of uncertainty and a pair of experienced veterans knowing that the closing chapters may only be a few seasons away.
Lowry’s win in Clare and McIlroy’s a year earlier were greeted with incredible scenes by the Irish crowd present and those watching live on RTÉ.
Huge crowds watched Shane Lowry’s first Irish title as a pro
The Holywood man won in the most dramatic of circumstances at the K Club, a green-covering eagle forcing an ultimately successful play-off, and while Lowry had the Waterford Crystal essentially secured just a few holes into his final round, the scenes around 18 will still live long in the memory.
A Golf Ireland economic report released in June 2025 estimated that one in 10 Irish adults play at least once a year, up from 7.6% from their previous report a decade earlier. Attendance at Irish Opens, particularly the women’s, have witnessed a massive rise. A total of 22% of non-golfers surveyed were interested in playing in the future.
How could Lowry not inspire some of those non-golfers – young and old – to hit the greens this week?
And the obvious follow up question is, who is the next Irish superstar in the men’s game?
At 23, Tom McKibbin fits the age profile, and the fact that he grew up playing golf at the same club as McIlroy in Holywood felt like an easy sell.
His decision to pivot to LIV Golf has taken him out of the spotlight though and, as it stands, he’s yet to break the top 40 in a major or even the top 25 in a PGA Tour event.
Séamus Power has managed both of those, and two PGA Tour titles is an excellent outcome for any pro player, but in recent times it’s been more about battling to save his card.
At 23, time is still very much on the side of Tom McKibbin
Stuart Grehan was a star at the recent Walker Cup and has an Augusta date next year, but having returned to his amateur status from the pro game, it’s hard to see him reversing that decision any time soon.
After McIlroy, Lowry, McKibbin and Power, Liam Nolan is the next highest ranked Irish player in the OWGR ratings – but even after a decent bump after his fine Irish Open performance he is still just inside the top 600, although he did pass Pádraig Harrington as a result of his tied 31st finish.
Mark Power, Max Kennedy, Gary Hurley, Paul McBride, Alex Maguire and Conor Purcell are the other Irish players inside the top 1000. Their average age is 27.67.
For comparison, there are nine Irish golfers inside the top 1000 of the women’s rankings. A similar base, but there will be hopes that another good Solheim Cup can get Leona Maguire back on track while Lauren Walsh, in particular, looks like she could make a name for herself in America.
From the outside, ascension to the very elite level of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour currently looks unlikely for that Irish men’s pick – but then nobody would have predicted what happened in Louth 17 years ago when Lowry and England’s Robert Rock raced up the 18th green four times in horrendous wintry conditions. Across both tours, there has only ever been one amateur win since when Nick Dunlap won the American Express two years ago.
A few weeks before that 2009 Irish Open, one national paper had two golf stories side by side. The first was American star Jim Furyk predicting that McIlroy was going to make it all the way to the top. Beside it, a dejected Lowry shook hands with David Corsby after losing the West of Ireland Championship final.
Shane Lowry (R) announces he’s turning pro in May 2009
The next Irish star may be out there, and while the obvious candidate may not be staring us in the face just yet, it may come out of the blue á la Lowry.
Or maybe it might be one of the thousands of young boys and girls that spent the last few days in awe of what was happening in Doonbeg. Maybe someone watching at home will ask for a set of clubs off Santa and there starts what could be the journey to the top or maybe one of the hundreds of kids who got hats and flags signed by stars will pick up a pitching wedge instead of a hurl this weekend.
Maybe nine-year-old Cillian Hirst’s incredible ‘Beat The Pro’ attempt at the seventh on Saturday – where the 5.7 handicapper found the heart of the green in breezy conditions – is the modern-day equivalent to chipping golf balls into a washing machine on the Gerry Kelly Show.
Whatever the future holds, whatever paths may be weaved, no matter how long it takes, Golf Ireland simply must strike when the iron is at its very hottest.