- Lowry hit back at his critics, believing he deserves his place at the Ryder Cup
- The Irishman believes he is one of the top 12 European golfers at the moment
- Lowry has admitted that despite his poor form, he has earned the right to play
If Shane Lowry bit his tongue any harder he might have required medical attention but his irritation at those querying his Ryder Cup wildcard was transmitted loud and clear on Tuesday.
It has been a little over a week since Luke Donald included Lowry among his six picks, which was an eminently sensible decision but one that also raised doubts in some quarters about his form this year.
The 2019 Open champion achieved a degree of vindication by placing third at the Irish Open on Sunday, though its standing as one of only two top-10s since February is a mild concern going to Rome.
Lowry, who defends his BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth this week, is plainly irked by the debate. He said: ‘I know there was a little bit about that last week and I need to be careful here. It didn’t sit very well with me to be honest.
‘Yes, my results have not been amazing this year, but I feel if you purely go down the 12 best players in Europe, I’m one of them. And I feel like I deserve my place on the team.
Shane Lowry has said that he doesn’t need to prove his doubters wrong at the Ryder Cup
The Irishman has backed himself as one of the 12 best players in Europe despite his poor form
‘I didn’t feel like I had to go out and prove anything to anyone last week. If I shut a few people up, so be it, but I wasn’t trying to do that last week.
‘I know I deserve to be on that team and I know I’ll be good in Rome in a couple weeks, and I’m very excited for it.’
The Irishman joined his 11 team-mates in Rome on Monday for a reconnaissance mission at the Marco Simone course.
All feedback so far has pointed to the difficulty of the rough, which has been grown in attempt to inhibit the big drivers on the American team, though Lowry is seemingly unconvinced by the advantage it will offer Europe.
‘Scottie Scheffler is No 1 tee-to-green in the world so it should suit him,’ he said.
‘They have got some of the best players in the world. But we also have some of the best players in the world and I honestly think that it all comes down to would gets off to a fast start and who holes the most putts.’
He joined his 11 team-mates in Rome for a reconnaissance mission at the Marco Simone course
