And US Open champion Graeme McDowell reckons the Clara star’s laid back approach could pay off big time as he finds his feet in the major leagues.

Sharing a house with the Offaly ace this week, McDowell said: “Shane has a fantastic attitude for the game and that is why he has settled in so well as he has.

“He’s got a very relaxed demeanour and doesn’t put himself under a lot of pressure. I’ve just told him to go out and enjoy it.”

Lowry knows he has what it takes to become a major contender some day but he was boosted by McDowell’s words of praise as he prepared to tee it up in an American major for the first time.

He said: “It’s great to hear that from a player like Graeme. It gives me great confidence to know people think that. But I have to be confident in myself.

The 361-yard 10th at Whistling Straits

“To be honest, there’s no real point in playing golf unless you really, firmly believe you can compete with the world’s best. That’s the goal for me. I’m only 23 and I’ve got a long way to go yet.”

Ranked 82nd in the world, Lowry added: “Hopefully I can play well this week and do well over the next few months and get into more majors because that’s where you want to be in golf. This is what it’s all about.

“It just depends how I handle myself on Thursday. I was really nervous before I went to the tee in The Open at St Andrews. But once I hit that first tee shot, I loved it after that.”

Manager to tour winners Graeme McDowell and Michael Hoey, Ridge said: “I don’t want to sound negative on that but I think a dose of realism is required around here.

Shane Lowry - in the eye of the storm

“He’s Asian, he’s not from Offaly, and I don’t mean that in a bad way.

“The big money to be made at the moment is on the golf course, not off it. The world has changed.”

Lowry is expected to announce that he will make his professional debut in next week’s European Open at the London Club in Kent. Just don’t expect to see him festooned with logos from big money sponsors.

Ridge explained: “You are talking about a guy who is Irish. It is a huge story in Ireland. Is it a big story in the ‘States? No. Is it a big story in the UK? They’ll take note of it.

“It’s a big, big story in Ireland, which is probably the most depressed market in the world at present, next to Iceland. People have got to take that on board.”

Horizon Sports issued an invitation at 7pm on Wednesday, asking the media attend a press conference in Dublin’s Westbury Hotel for a “significant announcement”. And while the invitation does not reveal that Horizon are signing Lowry or what his intentions are, Ridge made no secret of the fact that he wants to sign the hottest property in Irish golf and protect him.

Speaking at Wentworth yesterday, Ridge said: “I think we’d be the best company for him, without wanting to be biased in any way, I just don’t believe anyone would look after him the way we will.

“If he joins us the likes Graeme can help him, advise him, look after him, maybe more so than if he was with another company because I can influence that as well.

“Every country in the world is different, every culture is different. Nobody is going to be able to relate to Shane Lowry like we can.”

Rory McIlroy already had major deals lined up before he turned professional under ISM’s Chubby Chandler at the British Masters in September 2007. But Ridge believes that McIlroy’s former team mate Lowry is a totally different player who needs to be protected from the hype that has exploded in Ireland since the 22-year old amateur stunned the golfing world by winning the 3 Irish Open in a play-off last Sunday.

Ridge said: “I’ve never seen anything like this since I’ve been in management, which means he needs to be protected even more than most.

“Rory has a gradual build-up, this guy has been thrown straight in.”

Lowry has been uncontactable since he lifted the Irish Open and has not even been taking calls or replying to texts from triple major winner Padraig Harrington. On hearing the news of the imminent announcement, Harrington said: “He’s got to do what he’s got to do and nobody knows his situation but him.”

Like Harrington, Ryder Cup veteran and 1991 Walker Cup player Paul McGinley advised Lowry not to turn professional until after the Walker Cup.

“He should wait for three months, size up the professional world and play a few professional tournaments as an amateur over the summer,” McGinley said. “He could also then play a few top amateur events but take his time and get everything in place; get his sponsorship in place; get his management company in place and then play the Walker Cup and enjoy that experience.

“Shane now has time on his side, so give himself three months to enjoy what he has just achieved and not jump straight into the professional ranks head-first.”

It appears likely that the advice of Harrington and McGinley has fallen deaf ears. And Great Britain and Ireland skipper Colin Dalgleish is resigned to losing his top player for September’s matches with the US in Pennsylvania.

“I am disappointed from a Great Britain & Ireland point of view,” Dalgleish told Golfweek. “He was one of our stronger players and a good candidate to make the team. However, I understand and respect his choice. It was a big decision for him to make, and he’s obviously done what he thinks is best for his career.

“I am surprised he didn’t take the advice of Padraig (Harrington) and Paul McGinley. He’s got his whole life to play professional golf but just the one chance to play the Walker Cup. He could have waited until after the match. The money would have still been there for him.

“It’s not the first time we’ve lost a Walker Cup player midseason, and it won’t be the last. We’ll continue on, and I still believe we’ll have a strong team for the Walker Cup.”

Declaring himself 75 percent fit after shin splints forced him out of the 3 Irish Open, McDowell insisted that Lowry simply can’t return to the amateur game. A possible future stablemate of Lowry’s at Horizon Sports, McDowell said: “The Walker Cup is a fantastic event but it’s a long time to be waiting, a very long time.

“I will be near impossible, I would say, to get himself back up to play amateur golf. What he’s done in winning the Irish Open is a nine out of 10 achievement for him at this stage of his career.

“The Walker Cup would be a four or five out of 10 achievement. He’s got nothing more to prove in the amateur scene.”

McDowell believes it’s “embarrassing” for sponsors BMW that Harrington is not playing at Wentworth this week and puzzled by the Dubliner’s decision to “batter himself on the range.”

But he’s delighted for Irish Open sponsors 3 that Lowry’s win has given the event a massive boost.

He said: “I watched all it on TV and it was very dramatic. The finish and the result is just what the Irish Open needed.

“It needed an injection of life over the weekend and it got it. And it’s just unbelievable what Shane managed to achieve. I am very impressed by his game. He looked very polished for an amateur player.”

As for Harrington’s decision to not to play at Wentworth because he dislikes the greens and wants to peak for the US Open, McDowell said: “He’s got the discipline, selfishness, single-mindedness and call it what you want, to not come and play here. But it’s still a strange one.

“I guess it’s a touch embarrassing for the sponsors BMW and the European Tour that he’s not playing in our flagship event.

“Padraig’s obviously got things worked out better than most of us, and the Major Championships are what golf is all about and you have to try and be prepared the best you possible can for them.

“But you have to ask yourself what is Padraig doing this year? He’s not playing well. He looks like he is battering himself on the range and you have to ask yourself, what is he looking for.”

But former US Open champion Michael Campbell and Players Championship winner Henrik Stenson backed Harrington’s two-before-a-major schedule.

Campbell said: “He’s being selfish but then we all are guilty of that. I know this is the flagship tournament for the European Tour but you have to think of yourself sometimes.”

Stenson added: “We all have to stick to a schedule and tournaments are not always going to get the best players.

“So while it may be disappointing he won’t be here this year, you cannot question Padraig’s reasoning.”

Dubliner, Lernihan said: “I’m back at Baltray for the East next week and I’ll have Shane’s strokesaver in my back pocket. Hopefully it will bring me a little luck.

Dara Lernihan is targeting the East

Castle player Lernihan, 22, led the “East” going into the final 36 holes last year but fell away to finish tied for second.

And he was frustrated to miss his best friend’s moment of triumph as he was playing in the Brabazon Trophy at Moortown in Leeds at the time.

Tied 25th there, he said: “I couldn’t concentrate at all on my own game at all. I was just thinking about Shane so much.

“I was getting texts on my phone all the time, telling me what was going on. It’s just unbelievable what he has achieved.”

Lernihan flew back into Dublin late on Sunday night and immediately headed to Clara in Co Offaly for the celebrations.

He said: “We had a great night in Baggot’s pub and another great night at Shane’s club Esker Hills last night.

“It just shows you. The difference between me and Shane is so small and for him to go and win on the European Tour shows that the difference in standard between the top amateurs and the pros isn’t as big as people think.

“Hopefully what Shane has done will inspire me and a few of the other lads to go on and do what he has done sometime in the future.”

National hero Lowry – up 10 spots to sixth in the latest’ World Amateur Ranking – said on Monday that he is almost certainly go to turn pro but did not enter this week’s BMW Championship at Wentworth.

But a spot has been left open for him on the entry list for next week’s European Open at the London Club in Kent as well as the following week’s Celtic Manor Wales Open.

Shane Lowry will soon be bidding for more titles on tour

Speaking yesterday, Lowry hinted that he wouldn’t be able to resist the lure of the megabucks Race to Dubai and the chance to take on pals Rory McIlroy and Chris Wood every week.

Lowry said: “I can’t really see myself playing amateur golf after what’s happened over the weekend. I think it would be a big step down and I wouldn’t have any interest in it really.”

The Clara man, 22, has decided not turn professional in time to tee it up in this week’s flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Instead, he will tee it up in the €2 million European Open alongside the likes of Masters champion Angel Cabrera, world No 3 Sergio Garcia and The Players Championship winner Henrik Stenson.

Lowry jumped straight to 168th in the Official World Golf Ranking yesterday ahead of Peter Lawrie, three time Ryder Cup winner Paul McGinley and Ryder Cup skipper Colin Montgomerie.

He missed out on a €500,000 pay day at the 3 Irish Open, which went to runner up Robert Rock. But if he wins at The London Club he will pick up enough world ranking points to leap into the world’s top 50 and qualify for next month’s US Open.

Colin Dalgleish and Rory McIlroy at the 2007 Walker Cup venue, Royal County Down.

“I think if you are going to listen to one person in the whole game, Padraig Harrington is the guy to listen to. He has been there and done that.”

With his tour card guaranteed until 2011, Dalgleish believes that Lowry can mix amateur golf with European Tour invites and then go out with a bang in Pennsylvania before turning pro on September 14.

He said: “If he plays in the Walker Cup, I think that the country of Ireland and world golf would think, wow, that’s a classy move. This guy is a bit different. He is not just jumping to turn pro straight away. He is going to play for Ireland in the European Team Championship. He is going to play Walker Cup and that’s a bit special.

“From a personal point of view, he has got a chance to be seriously talked about at that Walker Cup. He is going to be the leading light in the GB&I team. His achievements are extraordinary and I think it is going to put him in front of an American audience where otherwise he would have to start again to do that.

“Commercially it is a great move for him too. But from the point of view of enjoying the game of golf, he has got time on his side and I so pleased that Padraig has come out and said that to Shane.

“There are many professionals that would be telling him to turn pro. We passionately want to have him available for the Walker Cup but I genuinely believe that without question, it is in Shane’s best interests to do that.”

Shane Lowry and Colin DalgleishDalgleish sent Lowry a text just seconds after he holed that tiddler to claim the trophy on the third play-off hole and he’s hoping against hope that the Offaly man will have the sense to see the big picture.

Explaining his argument, Dalgleish said: “His extraordinary achievement allows him to turn pro on his terms. If he had finished second or third that would not be the case. He would probably be bounced into chasing seven invites to try and get enough money to get his card for 2010.

Shane Lowry and Colin Dalgleish

“It is fairy tale stuff and his head must be spinning. When I got back home yesterday I watched it on TV and the shots he was hitting in those conditions in the driving rain on the play off holes were just extraordinary. The three wood he hit on the second play off hole to 15 feet was amazing.

“He is a great lad and a great team player with a lot going for him. He is bright and clearly very talented and this couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy as well. I think this gives him the opportunity to do something a little bit different and it is going to steady him up massively.

“He is going to take inspiration from Rory and others will take inspiration from Shane. I am sure Shane has taken a few pounds off Rory in years gone by. He knows he can beat Rory from time to time.”

Dalgleish is hoping they are not playing for money too soon, but that now appears as unlikely as a Lowry win did seven days ago.

But that reputation for self-inflicted misfortune changed a long time before the 3 Irish Open at Baltray, where he produced a performance that not only captured the hearts of sports fans everywhere but showed that this is a golfer who can compete at the very highest level.

Shane Lowery in action

Had he not won the Irish Open at Baltray, he would almost certainly have been back at Stage Two this year as a one of the world’s top 10 amateurs. Instead, he can look forward to an exemption that expires at the end of 2011 from the moment he turns professional. It is worth remembering that Lowry has been a serious contender for major honours for the best part of five years. In 2005 he won the club championship at Tullamore and the Leinster Boys title at Skerries.

But it was a member of Esker Hills that he first claimed notoriety on the international stage when he reached the semi-finals of the British Boys Championship in Norfolk.

In 2006, now 19, he looked certain to lead the qualifiers on his senior championship debut when he when he signed for a five under par 66 late in the day to top the leaderboard in the West of Ireland at Rosses Point. But his joy turned to tears in the space of minutes when he discovered that he had signed for an eagle three instead of a birdie four at the par-five fifth.

“I didn’t have a three there, I two putted for a four,” he said, paling visibly. “I’d better go tell them.” He then promptly headed for the scorer’s caravan where he was disqualified for a breach of Rule 6-6b – Wrong Score for Hole.

Just four weeks later lightning struck twice when he was disqualified for the second time in a row in a senior amateur championship after appearing to post a best of the day 74 to take the clubhouse lead early in the third round of a rain-lashed Irish Amateur Open at Portmarnock.

“It was raining hard when he came off and I checked the scores, made sure everything was correct and just threw the card in,” he said. Unfortunately, he had failed to sign it and was disqualified immediately.

Things started to go right for him when he finish third in the East of Ireland at Baltray the following month and earned his senior International call up for the Home International Matches at at Pyle and Kenfig in Wales later that year. In 2007 he was third in the East of Ireland again, captured the Irish Close title in Cork and helped Ireland win the European Amateur Team Championship for the first time in 20 years at Western Gailes in Scotland, winning his singles 5 and 4.

Last year was his best year ever, when he captured the West and North of Ireland Championships, the prestigious Sherry Cup and the Mullingar Scratch Cup ( by eight shots) before helping Ireland to victory in the European Amateur Team Championships and the Home Internationals.

Interestingly, he also made a run for the East of Ireland title at the scene of his Irish Open victory. Bidding to emulate 1996 champion Noel Fox and bridge a 10-stroke deficit on the leader over the final 36 holes, the Esker Hills star took advantage of calm early conditions to haul himself back to level par with brilliant third round 67 that could have been even better had it not been for a closing bogey six. As eventual champion Eoin Arthurs was preparing to begin his third round, Lowry raced to the turn in four under par to get within a shot of his lead.

But the Irish No 1 bogeyed the 13th and then blasted an ambitious three-wood out of bounds at the 18th to close with a disastrous triple bogey eight for a 72, smashing the offending club in anger before apologising profusely.

This season he was runner up when he defended the West and has finished third in the Lytham Trophy and fifth in the Irish Amateur Open at Royal Dublin. And the plus five handicapper attributes his improvement in recent seasons to the work he has gone with the GUI’s National Coach Neil Manchip.

“I love what he does,” Lowry said at Baltray. “He is very good at all sides of it. I think my putting has improved. I hole more putts now and I am more solid inside 10 feet. It is all thanks to Neil.”

Yesterday, he showed he has all the shots as well as the mental game to triumph at the highest level. There was no scorecard to sign this time as Lowry painted the most surreal piece of golfing art with the clubs that will serve as the tools of his trade for years to come.