Lowry is one of three wildcards and is set to make his Team Europe debut alongside Ryder Cup veterans Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter in this year’s instalment of the competition.

The Irish golfer had missed out on the automatic spots after a 17th-placed finish at the BMW PGA Championship.

The 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year needed to finish in the top eight of the tournament to earn an automatic spot after Bernd Weisberger and Lee Westwood did enough at Wentworth.

However, all three will be teammates for the Ryder Cup after Harrington announced his choices on Sunday evening.

Lowry said to Sky Sports: “It’s been a career-long dream to play in the Ryder Cup. I remember when the points race started, I said it was my number one goal and it has been for the last two years.

“I’m just incredibly proud of what I have achieved. But there’s no point going over there to make up the numbers. I want to win points and help bring the cup back.”

The Offaly native will be one of three rookies partaking in their maiden Ryder Cup tournament for Harrington’s team.

Weisberger and Viktor Hovland will also make their debuts against Team USA this year after earning automatic qualifications.

However, although the rookie tag is placed on Lowry for this competition, the 34-year-old will come into the tournament with major-winning experience.

“He is a rookie but nobody thinks of him as a rookie,” Harrington said on Sky Sports after announcing his picks.

“He’s a major champion, a World Golf Championship winner. If I’ve picked a rookie it’s probably because they have delivered twice to get in the team.”

The 2021 Ryder Cup will take place from Friday, September 24 to Sunday, September 26.

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The Open is on the 49-year-old’s mind but so is the Ryder Cup, which gets closer and closer every week.

The Ryder Cup captain announced his third and fourth vice-captain choices last week with Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer earning the same honour as Robert Karlsson and Luke Donald.

“The first priority is the Ryder Cup,” said Harrington.

Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter have been two golfers that the three-time major champion has praised publicly.

Harrington feels that their Ryder Cup records mean that they should be held in high regard when it is time to select his team.

He also named Martin Kaymer as another example of a player with an impressive history as a Ryder Cup golfer.

However, the captain also understands that the future is coming fast with recent wins from Jon Rahm and Viktor Novland solidifying the need to take note of the younger golfers too.

What a special weekend – To win my first major, on my first Father’s Day, at a place that means so much to me like Torrey, is simply unbelievable. If this is a dream, I still haven’t woken up yet – so happy I can enjoy this with my entire family! pic.twitter.com/ttXQOzw4xB

— Jon Rahm Rodriguez (@JonRahmpga) June 22, 2021

But the best possible way of impressing Harrington, regardless of age, is with your performances.

“Wherever [players] play, I want to see them play well…the best possible way of impressing me is playing good golf.”

As for the more immediate events on his planner – the Irish Open and The Open Championship – the golfer is confident and working on his mental game, which he said is a good sign.

He credited Mount Juliet as a great golf course with great greens and hopes to be very stressed when he’s on the back nine on Sunday.

The 2007 Irish Open winner does expect a great weekend in Kilkenny with a limited amount of fans present to see the golfers play.

“I think all the players will appreciate the limited fans.”

The Open begins two weeks from now and is something Harrington has his eye on after his impressive performance at the PGA Championship, where he was tied for fourth with Shane Lowry.

He felt that the conditions in South Carolina helped him to perform well, likening it to a links course which is what the Royal St George course is.

Given the right scenario, Harrington feels he could impress at Sandwich as he is used to links courses.

“Given the right conditions and the right golf course, I can be very competitive with the game I have.”

The idea of winning a major again is what gets the World number 155 up in the morning, adding that it gives him a unique buzz compared to the thought of winning non-major tournaments.

However, that does not mean the veteran golfer can not get excited for the other tournaments.

Harrington noted that Jack Nicklaus noticed he was at the tail-end of his career when he lost that feeling of excitement before every tournament, and that he still has that feeling.

This week is exciting for him but feels different to many others as he prepares to begin the quest for the title, as others have agreed with him on.

“We do feel like it’s special this week.”

Irish Open tee times and TV details are available here.

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The Irishman will pair up with Rory McIlroy for the tournament as the duo will aim to win the first medal in golf for Ireland at the Olympics.

Lowry noted that it felt good seeing what the Olympics meant to those who chose him and hopes to do the country proud when he plays at the Kasumigaseki Country Club next month.

“I think it’s just pretty cool that I’m going,” said the one-time major winner.

The 2019 Open Champion is going over there searching for success and not for the experience alone, adding that he wants a medal.

Lowry ruled himself out of contention for the first-ever golfing tournament at the Rio Olympics in 2016 due to the outbreak of the Zika virus at the time.

At that time, he was recently newlywed to his wife Wendy and they were planning to have a family.

Statement on my Olympic Games participation pic.twitter.com/KY4YBzFa3g

— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) June 28, 2016

Based on that, he was advised not to travel to Rio to take part in the Olympic games and instead put his family’s welfare first.

Five years later, a year longer than expected, he will represent his country at the Olympics, something he described in his statement from June 2016 as an honour that would bring him “a huge source of pride.”

The Ryder Cup is another tournament that is also in the sights of the Irish golfer.

Lowry feels he is on course to be chosen by Pádraig Harrington to represent Europe in their defence of the trophy at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

His ability to stay in Ireland ahead of the upcoming Open Championship and subsequently his appearance at the Open will help his case as Whistling Straits is a links course, much like many courses in Ireland and Britain.

Lowry believes he only needs to replicate the form he has been in over the last year to be picked.

“I’ve put myself pretty close to the team. I think some good golf over the next couple of months will do that.”

Tee times and broadcast details for the 2021 Irish Open are available here.

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Jon Rahm sunk two long putts on the 17th & 18th at Torrey Pines to edge a stroke ahead of Louis Oosthuizen in a drama-filled final round late last night. He then faced an anxious wait as the South African golfer still had four to play. A bogey on the 17th put paid to Oosthuizen’s challenge and Rahm became the 121st winner of the U.S. Open.

In doing so Rahm became the first Spaniard to lift the prestigious trophy and only the fourth to claim a major title.

Rahm is no stranger to final-round drama. He shot a scintillating 62 in the final round at Lahinch in 2019 to come from five shots back to claim his second Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open title. He had previously won the title in 2017 at Portstewart.

The win at Torrey Pines lifts Rahm to the number one spot in the world rankings. Which will serve as a boost to Padraig  Harrington’s European Ryder Cup team also.

Rahm’s win somehow felt pre-ordained. He had led the Memorial by six shots after 54 holes, only to be informed that he had tested positive for Covid on the 18th after his third round two weeks ago. Two negative tests allowed him to exit his self-isolation just in time travel to La Jolla, California in order to compete at the U.S. Open.

Aptly, as the win fell on father’s day, the proud dad was greeted by his wife Kelley and his infant son Kepa as he strolled off the 18th. He cradled his son as he waited for the final holes to finish before his victory was confirmed.

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