Shane Lowry could be built around these conditions.
Not the rain and wind of Ireland, where the 37-year-old grew up playing and where he won the 2019 British Open, but the comfortable indoor arena where TGL made its debut on Wednesday night.
As the indoor league gets off to a good start, Lowry's wit took center stage, cracking some hilarious one-liners and also showing off some great golf.
This setup allows players to talk trash about each other and themselves when a shot is misplayed in order to get the fans in attendance to hear about it.
Lowry declared at one point that he wanted to be the “Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf.”
And after a fat chip shot that many players struggled with, he joked: It’s a bit thick though.”
Lowry's Bay Golf Club, featuring teammates Windham Clark and Ludwig Aberg, easily defeated the New York team of Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele.
“Last September was probably the last time I had that much fun,” Lowry said, looking at Clark, who wasn't on the team when the Europeans dominated the Americans in the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Lowry was under pressure to hit his first tee shot onto a giant 60-foot screen inside Palm Beach State University's 50,000-square-foot facility.
The idea for the indoor league was the brainchild of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were in attendance for the big night.
“If you weren't nervous enough to hit the first shot in TGL history tomorrow night, imagine what will happen if you miss the 60-foot screen,” Lowry wrote to X, followed by a monkey covering his eyes. followed by a laughing emoji.
The ball hit the screen and hit the virtual fairway, but it wasn't without its problems. At first, the Irishman forgot his T-shirt and tore off his earphones.
“I was a little nervous. I'm glad the screen is big,” Laurie said.
