Shane Lowry feels ‘absolutely disgusting’ amounts of money in golf are ‘going to p*** people off’

Shane Lowry has lashed out at the “absolutely disgusting” amounts of money being thrown at golfers, saying it is “going to p*** people off” who are average fans of the sport.

Lowry pocketed £1.175m for his Wentworth win, but said it was only after checking his phone that he was aware of his haul.

The 2019 Open champion says his motivation is to win at the top level and leave a legacy, which is why he chose to reject overtures from LIV Golf.

Tiger Woods held a meeting of senior players at the BMW Championship in August to talk through the state of golf, and it led to a raft of changes and a strengthening of an alliance between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

“At that (players only) meeting in Delaware, I was like, lads, we have to do what’s right for golf not what’s right for us,” Lowry said. “We are not always going to be there, but golf is and I feel what the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour have done and will do over the next few years is better for golf.

“I am very lucky to have the life I have. But it is not my God-given right to go off and do something that can bury those tours. It’s just up to me to hold my place there and pass it on to someone when it’s my time to sail off into the sunset.

“Hopefully, what’s going on now will strengthen the DP World Tour and hopefully golf in general can be better going forward.”

Asked why he did not consider a move to LIV, Lowry said: “I have always said I play for trophies, not for money. That’s why I didn’t entertain it, to be honest.

“I stood there on the 18th green on Sunday and looked at the trophy and it was a Who’s Who of European golf. I don’t care how much money I won and in fact, on Sunday night at 11 o’clock, somebody asked me how much I won today and I had no idea. I opened my phone and had to go to the text from the European Tour to see how much I’d won.

“My wife, not that she had a big part to play in it because it was never much of a thought in my head, she said, ‘Shane, all that money is not going to make you happy. All that’s going to make you happy is playing at the highest level.’

“The reason I have never even contemplated it is I don’t think it is good for the game.”

Lowry is concerned players are having their heads turned by money at a time when many are struggling with the cost of living.

“We are lucky the corporate world loves golf and that’s why we have such great sponsors,” Lowry said. “But I think this is causing a division in the game and it’s going to piss people off. People are going to stop watching it.

“The amount of money that is being thrown around is absolutely disgusting at the moment. I feel all people talk about is money now.

“We play for points in the FedEx Cup, but all the commentators talked about at the Tour Championship was how much money guys were going to win and I thought, will you just talk about the trophy or the title or how many times Tiger has won it.

“Going down the stretch, Rory (McIlroy) was going to pass Tiger if he wins this. I think it’s disgusting the money we’re talking about.

“The general Joe Soap, the guy who works his nuts off to make €50,000 a year and has to struggle to pay his membership at his golf club and loves the game so much, this is p****** him off more than anyone and I think that’s the wrong thing to do.”