Shane Lowry heads to Portstewart this week, hoping to claim his second Irish Open title, and his first as a professional.
Lowry announced himself on the world stage of golf in 2009 when he won the Irish Open as an amateur, courtesy of a dramatic play-off victory at Baltray.
Only 22 at the time, Lowry defeated British professional Robert Rock at the third extra hole of a sudden-death playoff after both men finished on a 17-under-par 271.
The Offaly man comes into this year’s tournament at Portstewart in search of consistent form however, having missed the cut last time out at the French Open.
A joint sixth place finish at the BMW PGA Championship has been Lowry’s best performance of the year, but he believes he is playing decent golf at the moment and is hoping to give himself a chance in Derry .
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Lowry said: "I don’t think I’ve ever played Portstewart but I’m looking forward to getting up there.
"I did'’t have a great week in France last week but up until then I thought I was playing really well and going into the tournament I felt I was playing well, it just got away from me a little bit.
"I’m looking forward to getting up there and I feel I can go and give myself half a chance going into the weekend and we’ll see what happens then.
"[My year] has been pretty average, it’s been a bit stop-start, but I think since April I’ve been playing really well and I really like my game is in decent shape. I’d be fairly confident going into the rest of the summer."
Lowry is hoping that the conditions in Portstewart will suit his game and while he doesn’t have as much links experience as some other Irish golfers, he still believes that he has an advantage over most of the field.
"We don’t play too much links golf at all. I grew up in Offaly so there’s no links golf down there but I’ve played a lot of amateur tournaments on links courses and I’ve done well on them.
"I really think a bit of wind and a bit of tough golf suits my game. I think for the Irish lads it definitely favours us having it on a links course.
"It’s probably one of the strongest fields we’ve had in the Irish Open for a long time. It’s a great date with it leading into the Open, we’ve got the Irish, the Scottish and the British, so it’s a great run of events.
"As an Irish player it’s great to be playing is such a big event and it being your home tournament as well."
There is the added pressure of competing at his national Open event and while it’s been eight years since Lowry claimed that famous win as an amateur, he admits that he hasn’t always done himself just at this tournament.
"I haven’t really done that well in the Irish Open," he said. "I finished fifth at Carton House but other than winning in Baltray, I haven’t really done that well in it.
"It’s a very long time ago now, the years flyby. I’ll always remember and it will probably always be the greatest memory of my career.
"If you told me any amateur was going to win a tournament I’d probably laugh at you now but to do that is amazing and it’s something I’d always remember.
"I’d love to be able to win the Irish Open now as a pro’ and say I won it as a pro and an amateur."
Shane Lowry was in conversation with RTÉ Sport as he signed a three-year global sponsorship deal Immedis, a specialist division of the Taxback Group.
