Two months after his success at Royal Portrush, Open champion Shane Lowry has been awarded a lifetime membership of the European Tour.
The Offaly golfer returns to action in Europe this week when he plays the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, a tournament where he was runner-up to Rory McIlroy five years ago.
Lowry will play alongside McIlroy and Francesco Molinari for the first two rounds and today the European Tour confirmed he's just the 56th person to receive lifetime membership.
"It is pretty cool to receive this award, when you start playing golf when you're a kid you don't know how good you can be, or even when you start playing as a pro. I didn't know that I would get to this day so it's pretty cool.
"I've obviously joined a nice list of names, which is pretty good as well. My heart lies with The European Tour. I'll always be a member. I love coming back and I love playing in events like this. So it's an extreme privilege to receive this."
Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: "Shane’s incredible victory at Royal Portrush will be remembered as one of the iconic performances in the Championship’s storied history.
"Shane is a terrific character and I think you when you look at the remarkable reception he enjoyed across the island of Ireland in the week following his win, in addition to the warmth and praise on social media globally, that shows you how popular he is in the game.
"He is also a wonderful ambassador for the European Tour, and is therefore a truly worthy recipient of this honour."
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