Last time Shane Lowry had tasted victory in a tournament came all the way back in 2015. That victory at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational was his first on the PGA Tour.

But this weekend, the Offaly golfer got back on the winners' podium with victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He won by a one-shot margin over South Africa's Richard Sterne.

What made it extra special was the fact his family were there to witness it. As the celebrations settle down, Shane Lowry joined Joe Molloy on Off The Ball.

One thing he touched on was what this now means for his career ambitions going forward.

"Obviously it's a good tournament to win. It's on a good golf course and it's got good prestige," he said of Abu Dhabi.

"To win a big event is great. To win any event would have been great. But to win such a big one... as you said, the Bridgestone is in the rear view mirror and quite a distance away.

"Hopefully, I can kick on from here and do what I feel like I can really do in the game."

Ryder Cup

While 2018 had seen Lowry lose his PGA Tour card, he's approaching 2019 differently in terms of events.

"It's funny because because I was fully going out this year with the mind of playing these events in the Middle East," he said.

"I was always going to Pebble Beach in a couple of weeks to play there and then come back and playing Oman, Qatar and Malaysia. My schedule changes now because I'm in Mexico, I'm in the Players Championship, I'm in the World Matchplay. Hopefully I'm going to be in Augusta and tournaments like that.

"This win does lead me to be playing a little more in America over the next four months. But that doesn't mean I'm going there trying to get my PGA Tour card back. I'm going there because they're the biggest events in the world. I've got to go and play in them if I want to eat at the top table in golf."

But he reemphasised, "I'm not actively trying to get my PGA Tour card back. I see myself as a European Tour player and I want to play the next Ryder Cup."

Lowry is hopeful of being part of that 2020 Europe Ryder Cup team captained by Padraig Harrington.

"To play the next Ryder Cup, I feel like I need to be playing in Europe," he said.

"That's my plan for the next two years, to be on that plane to Wisconsin with them."

Bad times

He also spoke about having his family course-side in Abu Dhabi. Indeed his wife and child were alongside him in victory which he described as "an absolute dream".

And added to that was his sense of elation after ending a difficult period on the course.

"There have been a lot of bad times over the past couple of years on the golf course," he admitted.

"Missed cuts and bad scores. When things are going like that, you never feel like you're going to play well again. It's the other way round as well. When you're playing well, you never feel like you're going to play badly.

"It's a weird game, golf. To turn it around and to come out and win, I think I showed a lot of character, and a lot of grit and determination."

You can listen to the full interview on the podcast player.

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