Shane Lowry defended by Tour winner: "The wrong words came out"

Five-time European Tour winner David Howell says Shane Lowry regrets his controversial comment about marshals at the Amgen Irish Open and insists the Ryder Cup star remains one of the most popular players on tour.

Lowry, 39, stormed to victory last week at the Amgen Irish Open in front of a jubilant crowd and under the watchful gaze of US president Donald Trump.

The win was Lowry's first trip to the winner's circle since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship and his second national open title, 17 years after he won the tournament as an amateur.

Although it didn't overshadow his week, Lowry came under fire for a comment he made during the third round on the 18th tee box.

The European Ryder Cup star sent an errant drive left towards a group of marshals and, although he shouted fore three times, could be heard saying the contingent "deserved to get hit".

A social media pile-on ensued, with many claiming the incident wasn't a one-off and needed to say sorry.  

Lowry addressed the incident in an interview with the Irish Examiner. 

He didn't apologise and claimed that marshals, while having a tough job, sometimes "get in the way".

Howell told the Sky Sports Golf podcast that he believes Lowry does regret his comment and insists the Irishman is among the most popular players on tour with players and caddies.

"We all say things that we regret, and that you wouldn't want someone to hear, and it's just stupid, daft stuff," said Howell.

"I say stuff every day, if it was filmed, people would say, 'goodness me, Howell's not a very nice fella'.

"Shane's a lovely guy. The 18th tee was a very stressful tee shot for him because he'd hit one out of bounds in the pro-am.

"The golfing public, they think golfers are immune to this type of negative thoughts. That would have stayed with him all week."

Lowry previously described the 18th tee box as "carnage".

Even with a 10-shot lead on the 72nd hole, Lowry was still worried about carving his tee shot out of bounds.

"There was a lot of chaos around," added Howell.

"The marshals do a wonderful job, and the players en masse are so thankful for the job they do.

"Sometimes, they're volunteers, they don't get things right.

"Of course he wishes he hadn't said it, and he wasn't hoping for anyone to get hurt.

"He's got his spikes on and he's just angry at himself for the shot he's hit.

"He's almost cussing himself and he's found the wrong way to do it. It wasn't very nice.

"A bit of the stuff on social media was saying, well, it's not the first time, he's not quite as nice as everybody thinks he is.

"That's completely false. Shane is top drawer, lovely guy, popular on tour for all the right reasons amongst the caddies and the players.

"He's a lovely chap with his feet firmly on the ground.

"It was a moment that we'll move on from. He won't say it again, but what can you say?

"The wrong words came out because he just hit another terrible drive.

"He's worried about hitting it out of bounds."

Lowry was reduced to tears in the immediate aftermath of victory.

It followed a tough season whereby the former champion golfer of the year spurned two glorious opportunities to win in Dubai and Florida.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy told reporters before the BMW PGA Championship that he had some conversations with Lowry about his struggles to regain his form.

"Like I said to Shane afterwards, on Sunday, form is temporary and class is permanent," said McIlroy.

"He is that calibre of a player we all know he is.

"It was just a matter of him getting back to that point and winning a tournament.

"I think him finishing it off in emphatic style the way he did, I think it will do a lot for him, and it will hopefully do a lot for him with how he approaches final rounds going forward because I think he would admit himself that final rounds have been a struggle over the last couple years for him.

McIlroy added: "But I think for him to go out, shoot 63 on the final day leading your national Open with all that crowd support behind you, he really went out there, and he grabbed the tournament by the throat and made it his. It was amazing to see.

"He alluded to it on Sunday night as well. He's had some hard times this year, and we've had some chats and heart-to-hearts about it.

"All I can try to be is a good friend and provide encouragement and maybe provide examples of what I've tried to do in those circumstances.

"As I said, I think it was only a matter of time. It was amazing to see."