Shane Lowry was left disappointed by his final round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open last weekend, with the Irishman falling out of contention after a strong start to the weekend.
Lowry entered Sunday on -8 but a dire final round saw him card a five over par 76 to finish 18 shots behind eventual winner Nick Taylor of Canada.
The weekend at large was defined by the scenes we have become accustomed to at this event in recent years, with the Phoenix Open known as the party event on the PGA Tour.
Now let’s review today’s highlights from the Waste Management Phoenix Open… pic.twitter.com/WXlgs4KBTT
— Jimmy Orr (@JimmyOrr) February 11, 2024
The rowdiness of the Arizona fans was highlighted in last year's Netflix series Full Swing and has earned the event a notorious reputation thoroughly unique to any other event on the PGA Tour.
Last weekend's tournament saw several golfers involved in clashes with drunken spectators, but Shane Lowry thinks that players should be aware of what they are getting themselves into when they sign up for the event.
READ HERE: Luke Littler Reacted Furiously After Missing Huge Shot At Gerwyn Price
READ HERE: GAA President Drops Another Woeful Blunder After Sigerson Cup Final
Shane Lowry jokes that fans wanted a mid-round pint with him at Phoenix Open
Lowry appeared on the Fore Play Podcast this week and, naturally, the wild scenes of the Phoenix Open were the first port of call with the show's hosts.
The discussion of the Waste Management Phoenix Open begins at 36:48 in the above video
Lowry was asked if he was taken aback by the antics of spectators last weekend - but the Offaly native said that he has learned what to expect from the event.
He went on to say that the unruly behaviour of the American fans was on another level to anything he had witnessed on the European scene:
I think you've got to mention that people have short memories. What went on at the weekend just goes on every year at the Waste Management! Golfers know that if they don't want to deal with the heckling or the crowd or the mess that it is...it is what it is. It's one of those tournaments that once a year is pretty cool, any more would be tough.
I remember my first Waste Management, I think it was 2016. I was in the final group on Saturday and, honestly, I've never seen anything like it in my whole life. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen on a course.
A guy ran across the 17th green when we were playing and did a bomb into the lake, a few things like that happened during the day. That's kind of what you've come to expect with the Waste Management, if we try to take away from that it might be a bad idea.
Us Irish people get a bad name for being big drinkers. When you go to PGA Tour events, especially the Waste Management, I see people...look, I've been known to have a few drinks in my time and I've been pretty drunk before, but I've never been that bad where I can't actually stand up. You see people at the Waste Management where they actually can't walk after the day's golf. That's just crazy.
You see people getting carried out by their friends. Loads of videos will go viral where a guy can barely walk, it's a bit mad.
People go to the Waste Management with the sole aim of getting as drunk as they can and having a good time.
2019 Open champion Lowry will have been frustrated with his performance at Scottsdale, having appeared to be in contention early in the weekend before dropping off the pace.
He told the Fore Play Pod that the atmosphere at the Phoenix Open can become frustrating when things are not going well - as transpired on Sunday when fans were offering him drinks midway through a disastrous round:
I played okay for most of the week last week. When you're playing okay and doing well, it's pretty easy and it's enjoyable or whatever. Then I had a bad Sunday and, when you're having a bit of a bad day and people are getting on top of you, it does get tough.
You know before you go to the event what it's going to be like so, if you don't want to deal with it, just don't play.
I do get it when people think I'm gonna go over and have a drink with them mid-round, that's what people think of me! I'm like, 'no, I'm actually playing a golf tournament here, so...'
Having asserted that he has never found himself at the level of drunkenness displayed by many of the fans in attendance last weekend, Lowry was called out by the podcast's host for the shelves of Jameson whiskey bottles on display directly behind him.
Lowry couldn't resist biting back at the American hosts with a dig relating to last year's Ryder Cup.
Yeah, they're all full though! That's a display, my little bar.
I do have a little Ryder Cup there as well, just in case you Americans don't know...
Given how much of a figurehead he became for Team Europe in Rome, it's no surprise that Shane Lowry was eager to get a Ryder Cup jab in.
SEE ALSO: Incensed Billy Horschel Drops F-Bomb At Crowd During Phoenix Open
