The 'spark' is gone as Shane Lowry splits with Open winning caddie Bo Martin
- Michael Schmitt
- 31 January 2023
Shane Lowry has parted ways with Brian "Bo" Martin, the caddie with whom he won the Open Championship in 2019.
Lowry and Martin first joined forces at the Portugal Masters the year before their Open victory and they didn't have to wait long to start enjoying success together.
The Irishman picked up his first win in more than three years at the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which was followed by their memorable six-shot Open triumph at Royal Portrush.
The duo were successful as recently as last September in the BWM PGA Championship at Wentworth, but Lowry now feels the chemistry has gone, with the split with Martin being confirmed by his management company Horizon Sports Management on Monday night.
According to The Irish Independent, the pair had been considering the split for several weeks, believing their relationship had lost its "spark" or "chemistry".
There were some public signs of friction between the two, including an expletive-laced rant from Lowry directed at Martin over an incident involving a wrong club on the 13th hole of last year's Masters.
Recent results have been disappointing, including a miserable run at the Hero Cup Match Play event earlier this month, where Lowry failed to score a single point, losing all four of his matches.
Last week's cut at the Dubai Desert Classic, however, appears to have been the final straw.
Lowry has yet to announce a replacement but will need to make a plan quickly as he is scheduled to play five events in row starting with next week's Phoenix Open and culminating with the Players Championship at Sawgrass in March.
After his Open victory at Royal Portrush, Lowry gave Martin a huge amount of credit for his turnaround in form.
"Bo has been incredible the last year," he said. "He started caddying for me about September last year, and just when I started to play well again. So he's just, like, he's brought a new lease on life to me.
"He was unbelievable today. He kept on my back all day, kept talking to me, he kept in my ear. I kept on telling him how nervous I was, how scared I was, how much I didn't want to mess it up.
"But, yeah, he was great at keeping me in the moment today. He's been great for me. Like I said, you see my results since then have been good.
"I've known Bo a long time. He's now become a very good friend of mine. And to be able to share it with someone so close was very special."
