Shane Lowry showed his class on and off the golf course during an eventful PGA Championship at Wentworth.
With the event reduced to 54 holes due to the Tour not playing on Friday as a mark of respect after the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth ll, the Irishman proved a fitting winner because of both the way he plays and also how he conducts himself.
He is calmness and relaxation personified and was the ideal man to lift the trophy in these uncertain times. He is a staunch supporter of the DP Tour and the PGA Tour and has a real dislike for what LIV golf stands for and has done to the game. He does not believe that those players who have defected to LIV should take spots that DP players lower down the ranking could have had.
In his post-tournament speech he put it with beautiful understatement when he said his was “a win for the good guys”.
The fact he pipped two other fantastic supporters of the established tours, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm will have bolstered their views and positions and, of course, this was the first event in the Ryder Cup qualifying for 2023.
Can you think of three better Europeans to lead the way so early in qualification? I bet a certain Luke Donald had a smile on his face as his team started to take shape.
For those unaware, the DP Tour seems to not have it’s ship as tight as the PGA Tour membership-wise and they have backed down for now under legal pressure from LIV players and allowed them to play.
True colors show through in time though. Sergio Garcia, for example, turned up and took a spot from a lower-ranked player, spouting support of the DP Tour, had a poor first round and then immediately pulled out and flew to the States to watch a team sport there.
That’s poor form whatever tour you’re on.
Do you agree with the views of Harrogate Advertiser Series golf columnist Mark Daubney? Email your views to [email protected]