Clean-shaven Shane Lowry looks completely unrecognisable without iconic beard

Shane Lowry is one of the most recognisable players in golf thanks to his huge beard, but that wasn’t always the case.

In 2009, the then-amateur surprised everyone to win the Irish Open, and he couldn’t have looked more different.

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Getty

Lowry didn’t have his signature beard, but established himself as a top talent with his victory at County Louth.

His win was just the third, at that time, by a non-professional player on the European Tour.

Lowry was just 22 years old and was ranked 16th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings heading into the then-called 3 Irish Open.

Incredibly, it was his first time competing professionally at the links course in Baltray, but after three extra holes were required to determine the winner, Lowry emerged victorious.

After finishing level on 17-under with Robert Rock, the duo parred the first play-off hole before they both birdied the second.

However, Rock could only manage a bogey on the third, which left Lowry with a short putt to win that he dispatched with ease despite the rainy conditions.

Soon after, he turned professional, and he hasn’t looked back, with his crowning moment coming with his 2019 Open win at Royal Portrush.

Among the field at County Louth that 2009 weekend were Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, and to this day, he rates it as one of his best achievements in golf.

It is also the last time an amateur won on the DP World Tour, and despite McIlroy’s Irish Open win in 2016 at The K Club, Lowry is the last Irishman to win the tournament on home soil.

Speaking about the win ten years on in 2019, Lowry said: “I feel very lucky that I was able to live something like that.

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“That is a dream. As long as I live, I think it’ll be my greatest achievement in golf.”

Thankfully for his legions of fans, Lowry will be sporting a full face of facial hair upon his return to The Genesis Invitational this week.

The 38-year-old continued his recent good form with a top 10 finish after an 18-under total at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

It is his fifth time in the top 12 in his last six events worldwide, but he remains an outsider among the bookies at Genesis at 66/1.

Lowry endured a frustrating campaign last year, which sparked two rule changes in professional golf this season.

Last summer, he was at the centre of a major rules storm during The Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

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Another incident at the 2025 PGA Championship saw his ball embedded in another player’s pitch-mark in the fairway.

However, Lowry will hope to make a more positive mark at The Genesis Invitational, having posted a score of 2-over last year.

His best finish at this event saw him finish tied for 14th at 7-under in 2023.