Newly-crowned Open champion Shane Lowry has withdrawn from this week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational as he is continuing to enjoy his major victory at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on Sunday.
Lowry, 32, attended a victory gathering in his hometown of Clara, County Offaly, Ireland on Tuesday and has been seen in several social media posts over the past two days celebrating his six-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood.
About last night…@ShaneLowryGolf #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/zdXW66yetz
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 22, 2019
A past winner of the WGC event in 2015 when it was played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Lowry has moved to a career-best 17th in the world.
The PGA Tour did not release a reason for Lowry’s withdrawal, but given the media demands of a major champion and the long trip and six-hour time change for the event in Memphis, Lowry’s decision to skip makes sense. As it is a World Golf Championship event, Lowry will not be replaced in the field, which has attracted 46 of the top 50 players in the world.