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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joshua Lees

Shane Lowry blasts "disgusting" levels of money as he vows never to entertain LIV Golf

Shane Lowry has taken yet another swipe at the LIV Golf Series, describing the monumental amount of money on offer in the world of sport as "disgusting". The Irishman secured his first win since the 2019 Open Championship last weekend, as he saw off Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy to win the BMW PGA Championship.

It was a week of tension at Wentworth, with 18 LIV golfers making their controversial return to the DP World Tour. Lowry in particular found himself in the middle of golf's ongoing civil war, revealing ahead of the week that he "couldn't stand" certain players returning, whilst admitting he won last Sunday's title for the "good guys" - another dig at the breakaway players.

In his week of celebration, Lowry has once again found himself discussing the controversy surrounding LIV Golf, and was critical about how the sport is seemingly dominated by financial incentives rather than trophies.

He told the No Laying Up podcast: "People are going to stop watching it. I think the amounts of money that are being thrown around are absolutely disgusting at the minute. I feel all people talk about is money now."

Revealing how he is driven by titles, Lowry admitted he "doesn't care" how much money he wins as long as there is a title added to the cabinet.

He commented: "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.

Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last Sunday (Getty Images)

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

The Irishman also revealed that he regretted saying he was a 'golfer not a politician' at this year's Saudi International when he was asked about playing in the Middle Eastern state despite its poor human rights record. "That was the wrong thing to say", he said.

"I played the Saudi international for the last three years and it would have been very hypocritical for me to say 'I don't like where the money is coming from'. I just think it [LIV Golf] is bad for the game."

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