SHANE LOWRY AWARDED HONORARY MEMBERSHIP OF EUROPEAN TOUR

Shane Lowry, pictured above with European Tour CEO Keith Pelley, has been awarded Honorary Life Membership of the European Tour in recognition of his Open Championship victory in July.

The Irishman finished six shots clear of Tommy Fleetwood at Royal Portrush to lift the Claret Jug in front of packed galleries at the County Antrim venue as the island of Ireland hosted the Open Championship for the first time since 1951.

It was Lowry’s maiden Major Championship triumph and came ten years after his unforgettable breakthrough victory as an amateur at the 2009 Irish Open at County Louth Golf Club in Baltray.

The 32-year-old currently leads the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, having also won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGC, the first Rolex Series event of 2019.

He was presented with his Honorary Life Membership by European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley ahead of the BMW PGA Championship – the season’s fourth Rolex Series event – which gets under way at Wentworth Club in Surrey on Thursday.

Lowry said: “It is pretty cool to receive this award. When you start playing golf when you're a kid you don't know how good you can be, or even when you start playing as a pro. I didn't know that I would get to this day so it's pretty cool.

“I've obviously joined a nice list of names, which is pretty good as well. My heart lies with The European Tour. I'll always be a member. I love coming back and I love playing in events like this. So it's an extreme privilege to receive this.”

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “Shane’s incredible victory at Royal Portrush will be remembered as one of the iconic performances in the Championship’s storied history.

“Shane is a terrific character and I think you when you look at the remarkable reception he enjoyed across the island of Ireland in the week following his win, in addition to the warmth and praise on social media globally, that shows you how popular he is in the game.

"He is also a wonderful ambassador for the European Tour, and is therefore a truly worthy recipient of this honour.”
Lowry, who has won five times on the European Tour, becomes the 56^th person to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of the European Tour, 41 years after John Jacobs, the Founding Father of the European Tour, was the first to receive the accolade in 1978.

Full list of European Tour Honorary Life Members

1978	John Jacobs
1978	Bernard Hunt
1978	Dai Rees
1982	Peter Butler
1983	Seve Ballesteros
1983	Tony Jacklin
1985	Sir Henry Cotton
1985	Fred Daly
1985	Max Faulkner
1985	Bernhard Langer
1985	Sandy Lyle
1987	Sir Nick Faldo
1992	Ian Woosnam
1994	José María Olazábal
1995	Bob Charles
1995	Arnold Palmer
1995	Gary Player
1997	Colin Montgomerie
1998	Ernie Els
1999	Paul Lawrie
1999	Greg Norman
2001	Vijay Singh
2002	Retief Goosen
2003	Peter Alliss
2003	Bernard Gallacher
2004	Neil Coles
2004	Christy O’Connor
2004	John Panton
2005	Michael Campbell
2007	Angel Cabrera
2007	Padraig Harrington
2008	Trevor Immelman
2010	Martin Kaymer
2010	Graeme McDowell
2010	Louis Oosthuizen
2010	Tom Watson
2011	Darren Clarke
2011	Rory McIlroy
2011	Charl Schwartzel
2011	Lee Westwood
2012	Luke Donald
2012	Brian Huggett
2012	Tommy Horton
2012	Mark James
2012	Roger Chapman
2013	Dave Thomas
2013	Justin Rose
2014	Jack Nicklaus
2016	Peter Oosterhuis
2016	Danny Willett
2016	Henrik Stenson
2017	Sam Torrance
2017	Sergio Garcia
2018	Francesco Molinari
2019	Patrick Reed
2019	Shane Lowry

 

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