"That's the reason I'm here" - Shane Lowry defends Ryder Cup selection with immense confidence in Team Europe's roster

Shane Lowry's inclusion on the European Ryder Cup team has not come without scrutiny.

There have been some questionable decisions on both sides, but Lowry's name being called over Adrian Meronk and others have been called out. However, the Irish golfer feels he was deserving of the spot:

As per NUCLR GOLF on X (formerly Twitter), Lowry said:

"I think even with my year that I've had, statistically it's better than some of the people that you were talking about that should have been picked ahead of me. Statistics don't lie. That's the reason I'm here…. I think we have the 12 best players in Europe here this week. I'm very confident in our team."

The Irishman is aware that he did not have the year he desired. It was a bit of a down year, but he still believes he was better than some other players. Many were tabbed to make it instead of Lowry, but he thinks he had the better season.

Those numbers, which he claims benefit him, are why he's on Luke Donald's side. The numbers don't lie, and they show that he was clearly a good fit for the squad.

Lowry is also a veteran presence that will undoubtedly help his teammates do better when the Americans, led by Zach Johnson, come to town.

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Shane Lowry gives advice to young Ryder Cup stars

Shane Lowry taking swings at the Ryder Cup

Shane Lowry has been on the Ryder Cup team before. This is not his first trip to the prestigious golf tournament. He and Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and others are veterans on this team. Some others are very young, though.

Lowry gave advice to his young teammates, many of whom have not been in this situation yet:

"The Ryder Cup is an intimidating week, especially as a rookie... I'm just being myself. I said to the lads yesterday, 'Lads, all you can do when you get to Ryder is just be yourself.' Myself is good enough, and I think I do that anyways... We've got a young team, but we have a lot of experience."

The roster Lowry is a part of consists of:

• Rory McIlroy (qualifier)
• Jon Rahm (qualifier)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (qualifier)
• Viktor Hovland (qualifier)
• Tyrrell Hatton (qualifier)
• Robert MacIntyre (qualifier)
• Tommy Fleetwood (selection)
• Sepp Straka (selection)
• Justin Rose (selection)
• Shane Lowry (selection)
• Nicolai Hojgaard (selection)
• Ludvig Aberg (selection).

There is a mix of experience and youth, but the youth have largely not been a part of this competition at all. Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg are two examples, and Aberg only recently earned PGA Tour membership. They're both extremely young and do not have experience in international competitions like this.

These golfers will be in Italy this weekend to face off with the American side. The Americans are led by Zach Johnson and consist of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, and Rickie Fowler, among others.

They will tee off on September 29 and the competition will last through the weekend into October 1.