Shane Lowry declared himself the “Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf” but was quickly brought back down to earth during the opening match of TGL on Tuesday night.

Lowry impressed in the very first match in the innovative golf league, as he, Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark helped secure victory for The Bay Golf Club over New York Golf Club. The Irishman was given the honor to hit the very first tee shot, and from then on, looked at home on the simulator.

The first nine holes were played in a triples format, with the three players from each team taking alternate shots, with one ball and one score counting towards their team tally.

The Bay dominated the early stages and marched into a 6-1 lead before the format changed to singles from holes 10 to 15. The Bay then only extended their lead down the straight, as Lowry and co moved 9-1 ahead of Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick.

With confidence brimming, Lowry said with a smile: “I knew it, I told you. I am going to be the Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf.” And the 2019 Open champion may well have had a point too, with Lowry adapting to his new surroundings as good as anyone taking part in week one of the season.

Things quickly came back crashing down for the confident Irishman though. His next shot however was far from ideal, as he made a rare mistake in what was, for the most part, an impressive debut. “That was a toe shank!” he said during the ESPN broadcast “I’m struggling with that shot.”

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It did not matter too much though, as The Bay ran out comfortable 9-2 winners in the end. Lowry and his teammates seemed to enjoy themselves throughout the two-hour match-up, and it is clear the European Ryder Cupper is a huge fan of thjoe idea and start-up league.

“I said last night when I got home because I like everyone else didn’t know what this was going to be like, and I came here and I played my first proper like full practice match last night, and I went away going, that was the most fun like two hours I’ve ever had on the golf course,” he said post-match.

“The last time I’ve had that much fun tonight was probably last September. Sorry, Wyndham. Honestly, for two hours kind of on the golf course — look, I’m about to set off into my 17th year as a pro or 17th season, and I think some weeks can be monotonous and tough when it gets to that, but this is just something different and something fun.

“I love the big weeks and I love playing in front of big crowds, and I really struggle to get up for certain events when the crowd is not so big and the energy is not there. But the energy is going to be here every night we play, and I’m really looking forward to that.”