"Not Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy"- Shane Lowry makes hilarious comment on 'giving shots' to his friends

Shane Lowry will tee off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to compete in his inaugural Tour Championship. The Irishman arrives at the tournament following finishes of T50 and T13 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship, respectively.

Although competing in the Tour Championship for the first time is a positive for Shane Lowry, he faces the daunting challenge of chasing Scottie Scheffler, starting seven shots behind the World No. 1. Lowry offered a humorous take on the situation. He said,

“I give shots to my friends every day at home, but my friends are not Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. I think, yeah, it is new, but a good start the first day and you’re back in the tournament ... in my head I’m seeing it as like a five-round event that I’ve got three-under the first round and I’m seven back of the leader and I need to kind of pick away at that over the four days and see where it leaves me on Sunday." [via The Irish Times]

Although he has come close on several occasions, Lowry has not won a single tournament on the PGA Tour this season. The 37-year-old's 15-year experience as a professional golfer will come in handy at the East Lake Golf Club when he faces big names like Scheffler and Schauffele.

A look at the full field for the 2024 Tour Championship ft. Shane Lowry

The Tour Championship will showcase a star-studded field, featuring the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup standings. Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy are among those set to compete.

The tournament will begin on August 29th and conclude on September 1. Here is the full field for the Tour Championship based on the stroke advantage:

Scottie Scheffler: 10 under
Xander Schauffele: 8 under
Hideki Matsuyama: 7 under
Keegan Bradley: 6 under
Ludvig Aberg: 5 under
Rory McIlroy: 4 under
Collin Morikawa: 4 under
Wyndham Clark: 4 under
Sam Burns: 4 under
Patrick Cantlay: 4 under
Sungjae Im: 3 under
Sahith Theegala: 3 under
Shane Lowry: 3 under
Adam Scott: 3 under
Tony Finau: 3 under
Byeong Hun An: 2 under
Viktor Hovland: 2 under
Russell Henley: 2 under
Akshay Bhatia: 2 under
Robert MacIntyre: 2 under
Billy Horschel: 1 under
Tommy Fleetwood: 1 under
Sepp Straka: 1 under
Matthieu Pavon: 1 under
Taylor Pendrith: 1 under
Chris Kirk: Even
Tom Hoge: Even
Aaron Rai: Even
Christiaan Bezuidenhout: Even
Justin Thomas: Even

This year's edition of the Tour Championship boasts a staggering purse of $100 million. The champion will walk away with a substantial $25 million. Additionally, the golfers finishing second and third will earn $12.5 million and $7.5 million, respectively.

About the author

Varun is a Golf and MLB journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. He has a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, and has worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Aaron Judge and his ability to keep being consistent. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he gets the chance to play for an MLB team, he would love to play for the New York Yankees.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma