Shane Lowry acknowledges that European golf is heading through a major transition.
With the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone in Rome quickly approaching, Lowry knows the European team is going to look vastly different than the one comprised at Whistling Straits in 2021, which fell 19-9 to the youngest American squad ever.
The Europeans are going to be much younger in Italy. With the departure of numerous European stalwarts to LIV Golf, deeming them ineligible for the Ryder Cup, players like Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey have perhaps played their last competition representing the Europeans.
Speaking ahead of the DP World Tour’s Hero Cup this week, Lowry doesn’t see a youth movement for Europe as a bad thing.
“I think it was always going to be that way, if you look at The Ryder Cups over the last 10 years, I think we have — the two best players in the world are European players at the minute I feel with Jon (Rahm) and Rory (McIlroy). It’s up to us, the rest of the lads to get our game to a level where we are good enough to win The Ryder Cup at the end of the year.
The Hero Cup is a new event for the DP World Tour that mimics the Ryder Cup. Ten teams of two are competing over three days against one another, and there are plenty of younger, hungry Europeans looking to earn their way onto the team fo/r the first time.
A week in this format could give them a glimpse of what to expect come September.
“It’s great for the younger lads that are here this week to be around the likes of Francesco (Molinari) and Tommy (Fleetwood) and myself and Tyrrell (Hatton) and lads like that. And to have Paul McGinley and José Maria Olazabal and Edoardo (Molinari) and Luke (Donald) here is pretty good. I feel like we have the bonds of a very strong team come September, and I hope that we all step up when it comes to it.
“And like I say, one of my main goals this year is to win The Ryder Cup and I hope to be a part of that team and hoping to be there and hopefully win it back.”