Lowry eyeing more Majors in Oklahoma

Shane Lowry is confident he can become a multiple Major winner and sees no reason why it cannot happen at this week's US PGA Championship.

The Irishman created some of the most memorable scenes in recent memory when he won the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019 and has come close to adding more Majors to his trophy cabinet since.

He finished in a tie for fourth at this event last season and then a tie for third at last month's Masters Tournament to make it seven top tens in golf's big four events.

Add that to the fact that this week's venue of Southern Hills Country Club is set to provide a rigorous test of Lowry's much-revered short game, and the stars could be aligning for the 35-year-old.

"It's a guarantee, isn't it?" joked Lowry when asked about his chances of a good week. "The guy who wins this week is going to hit 13, 14 greens a day, and he's going to miss four greens and he's probably going to get up and down a lot of the time. That's what you're going to need to do.

"I think a good day around here would probably be 13 or 14 greens. So you're probably going to have four chip shots a day this week and you need to be good with those.

"Obviously you need to be good but you need to leave yourself in the right spots as well around here. You get above the hole and get short-sided, you're going to have a very difficult time. You need to be clever with your approach shots as well.

"It's obviously going to be windy and I can deal with the wind. I can chip. You're going to have those key moments throughout the week like you do at every Major Championship where you're going to have these six-eight-footers for par that you're going to need to hole. That's what these tournaments are all about.

"I don't mind that around here, let's just put it that way. It's a good opportunity for me to go out there and show people what I'm made of again this week and hopefully I can be there or thereabouts come the weekend.

"I think over the course of my career, over the next however many years I play and I'm in Major Championships and I'm at the top level, I think I just want to give myself a few chances. If I give myself a few chances, I feel like I maybe can win one more."

I just want to give myself a few chances. If I give myself a few chances, I feel like I maybe can win one more

Lowry fired a closing 69 in the final round last year as he achieved a career-best finish in the company of friend and countryman Pádraig Harrington - who also posted a 69 to finish alongside him on the leaderboard.

And while he revealed it was one of his favourite rounds of golf, he also admitted that the pressure was on as he tried to earn a Ryder Cup debut in front of the captain.

"Playing that final round with Paddy was pretty cool," he said. "That was one of the more enjoyable rounds of golf.

"It was a day where I was playing with one of my really good friends and I was feeling a lot of pressure because obviously he was the Ryder Cup Captain at the time and I was gunning to make his team last year, and I went out there and put in a good performance.

"It was pretty cool and to do it alongside him, and he did the same thing, he gave himself a good chance to win actually on Sunday."

Lowry was reunited with Harrington again this week as the duo played a practice round with Rory McIlroy and Séamus Power as the DP World Tour newcomer plays in his second Major Championship.

"Séamus, he's in all the Majors this year now for the first time," said Lowry. "So it was nice to be able to accumulate a fourball on a Monday or Tuesday afternoon at a tournament like this and just go out and enjoy it and play a game against each other.

"Myself and Séamus, we got unlucky. We halved yesterday, but it was just four Irish lads out there having a good time and getting to know the golf course. You learn bits from days like that, but it's hard to put your finger on what they are."