Shane Lowry has admitted that his struggles to tolerate the long rounds on the PGA Tour helped prompt his decision to change his caddie after his performance at the US Open last week.
It was announced after Lowry had missed the cut at Shinnecock Hills that he had parted ways with Darren Reynolds after several years of working together.
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Of course, the high point for the pair came when Lowry holed the putt that ensured that Europe would at least retain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last September.
Shane Lowry sheds light on the decision to change his caddie after the US Open
However, it has been a disappointing season for the 2019 Open champion. The 39-year-old goes into the final round of the Travelers Championship still awaiting his first top 20 finish since the Cognizant Classic.
It is former caddie Dermot Byrne who is on Lowry’s bag this week – though it remains to be seen who will be taking on the role in the long term.
And speaking to Sky Sports after his third round at TPC River Highlands, Lowry explained why he felt the time had come to switch things up.
“Obviously myself and Darren finished last week. I had a great chat with him on Saturday [after the US Open]. We had a great three and a half years together and we’re good friends and he was very good to me and we experienced some great things,” he said.
“I just felt like I needed a bit of a change on the course and I felt like the five hour rounds were quite unenjoyable at times and I felt like I needed a bit of a change up. And then Dermot was carrying last week for a guy called James Nicholas and he qualified for the US Open. It kind of was easy to ask him to do this week because it’s only a drive up the road for him.
“So it’s been nice to have him on the bag and he’s kind of changed it up a little bit, but gave me a bit of confidence. Yeah, it’s just nice to kind of have an old friend on the bag and, hopefully, we can go out there tomorrow and give it a run.”
Why Shane Lowry needed to make a change after a difficult PGA Tour season
Shane Lowry‘s results this year arguably do not do justice to the quality of a lot of the golf that he has played on the PGA Tour.
He is in and around the top 50 in most strokes gained categories, with his biggest issues coming around the green.
Lowry is usually an exceptional short game player.
| Strokes gained category | Shane Lowry’s PGA Tour rank (2026) |
| Off the tee | 48th |
| Approach | 26th |
| Around the green | 95th |
| Tee to green | 30th |
| Putting | 53rd |
| Total | 28th |
It does appear that his collapse at PGA National really knocked his confidence as he ended up making two double bogeys in the final three holes to lose out on the title to Nico Echavarria.
Lowry had also been in the mix heading into Sunday at The Masters. He was two shots off the lead going into the last round.
But for the second year running at Augusta National, Lowry failed to break 80 on Sunday. And he has subsequently missed the cut at the next two majors.
Unfortunately, it is often the caddie who pays the price as a player, understandably, searches for a clean slate.
With Lowry heading into Sunday in Connecticut in a tie for fifth, the very early signs suggest that he will benefit from making the change.
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