EurAsia Cup Preview: Meet The European Team

Shane Lowry took a giant step onto the global golf stage when he won the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, holding off Major Champions Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose to win by two shots at Firestone Country Club. Lowry shot a flawless final round of 66 to become only the second European player since Darren Clarke in 2003 to take the title.

But there were earlier signs Lowry was on the rise. He was runner-up behind good friend Rory McIlroy at the 2014 BMW PGA Championship and tied runner-up at the ISPS Handa Wales Open later that year. Ireland’s son moved into the top 50 in the World Ranking for the first time by finishing fifth at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. He captured the 2012 Portugal Masters – his second European Tour title – with a superb final round 66.

Lowry shot to prominence in 2009 when he became only the third amateur to win a European Tour title – and the second that year following New Zealander Danny Lee – when he captured the Irish Open at County Louth Golf Club in Baltray, beating Robert Rock at the third hole of a play-off. His father, Brendan, was a famous Gaelic footballer who won the All-Ireland Championship with County Offaly in 1982.

Next: Bernd Wiesberger