Shane Lowry and Saudi amateur Saud Al-Sharif pose for the camera ahead of the 2020 Saudi International

Shane Lowry has revealed that he pulled out of the 2016 Rio Olympics because his wife was five weeks pregnant at the time.

The Open champion admits he got “a lot of stick” for pulling out of the trip to Brazil citing his fears of contracting the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Boxer Katie Taylor lashed the high profile golfers who opted to stay away four years ago, forcing Ireland to call on Pádraig Harrington and Seamus Power to step in for Lowry and Rory McIlroy.

“Another one bites the dust,” she tweeted when Australian Jason Day, then the world No 1, opted to join the likes of Lowry, McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth in pulling out. “I wonder what excuse the golfers would of [sic] made if there was no virus.”

Lowry cited his family’s health as his priority in 2016 and revealed ahead of his debut in the Saudi Invitational yesterday that feared for his wife Wendy, who was just five weeks pregnant with their daughter Iris at the time.

“I did get a lot of stick for it, about the whole Zika virus thing,” he said when asked if he would skip another Olympic Games should he qualify. “It was funny, myself and my wife, we had just got married and we were trying for a baby.

“Honestly the day I had to make my decision [on the Olympics], she found out she was pregnant. She was only five weeks pregnant at the time, and we didn't want to take any sort of chance at all.

“Now we've got a healthy and happy little girl. No Olympic medal can match that.”

While he believes the majors will always be golf’s most important events, he can see the Olympic Games becoming the fifth major.

But he’s a traditionalist when it comes to golf politics, declaring he’d heard nothing but rumour about the proposed Premier Golf League, which could threaten the existence of the PGA Tour and the European Tour if it succeeds with plans to lure 48 top players to play an 18-event world schedule in 2022 or 2023.

“I genuinely don't know anything about it,” he said. “Obviously I've heard the rumbling about it, people talking about it, a little bit about it. But I genuinely don't know anything about it.

“It would be hard to sit here and talk about anything to do with that. I'm a European Tour and PGA Tour player. That's what I am, and who knows what's going to happen, but I don't know much about it to be honest.”

While some players are intrigued by the idea of playing 54-hole, no-cut events around the world for money that would dwarf current prize funds, Lowry is happy with the status quo.

“I'm very much a traditionalist,” he said. “I don't like -- I don't see new formats or anything like that being a way to go about golf.

“I think golf is a great game. We're very lucky to do what we do for a living and we're very lucky to be involved in such a great game and such a great history. I love golf the way it is, and I'm happy with that.”

The Clara man was pleased to have a chance to win Omega Dubai Desert Classic last week having miscalculated badly on his final hole in his defence of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and missed the cut just a week after starting the season with a runner-up finish in the Hong Kong Open.

He tied for 11th in Dubai as a combination of high winds and a “brutal” course set-up sent scores soaring on the final day.

But he’s confident he can do well again this week at a more benign Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City in what will be his last European Tour start before he returns for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in May.

“Obviously I got off to a great start in Hong Kong after a long break and didn't know what to expect,” he said. “Then came to Abu Dhabi, and I sort of had a mental error on the last hole and missed the cut out of nowhere.

“Looking at last week, I finished 11th, and probably would have liked to finish better. But any Sunday morning you're sitting there eating your breakfast and feel like you have a chance to win the tournament is a good day.

“If the wind didn't blow as hard as it did Sunday, it would have been a perfect week. I think it was just a little bit brutal on Sunday.

"I thought if I could shoot three or four-under, I would win the tournament, and it did suit the guys coming from behind. It didn't suit the leaders at all.”

As a major winner, he’s been drawn with world No 1 Brooks Koepka and Spain’s Sergio Garcia for the first two rounds this week and sounds confident about his chances as he continues his quest to make Pádraig Harrington’s European Ryder Cup team.

“I feel like my form is okay, and hoping to do all right this week and pick up a few more World Ranking points, Ryder Cup points,” he said.

“I’ve done well in obviously Abu Dhabi, Race to Dubai, [DP WTC] played okay in the Desert Classic the last couple of years.

“It is a type of golf that I do enjoy playing. It's perfect weather and a perfectly conditioned golf course. You wouldn't want to be playing anywhere else. It's just perfect. It's ideal.”

He played a practice round with Challenge Tour graduate Cormac Sharvin, whose uncle Brian is his caddie, and has high hopes for the Ardglass man in his rookie season.

“It's great,” he said of the addition to another Irish player to the European Tour ranks. “When I started on Tour there, was 12 Irish on Tour, and now obviously there's not as many.

'It's great to see him here. Obviously his nephew is my caddie, so there's a bit of added interest there.

“I played with him for the first time at Lahinch last year in a practice round. I was very impressed. Impressed again yesterday. Even we played with Martin [Kaymer] yesterday, and me and Martin talked about him last night and Martin was impressed with him.

“Hopefully he's got a bright future and he can get his season off to a good start this week and maybe have a good year and I suppose make The Race to Dubai or something would be a good season.”

Saud & Shane Pose Together Ahead Of 2020 Saudi International.jpg

Lowry took time out of his preparations to play the final three holes at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club with the 20-year old Saudi amateur Saud Al-Sharif, giving him advice on how to best approach his national championship.

“He definitely has the potential to do well this week at his home tournament, as well as progressing further beyond the tournament and turning professional,” Lowry said. “I will be keeping a close eye out for him throughout the tournament and hopefully we might get to play again with each other later in the week.”

Al-Sharif, who hopes to one day compete internationally as a professional golfer, has just completed a month’s training with the Saudi Arabian Golf Federation-backed National Golf Team. Held at The Claude Harmon Golf Academy Dubai, he trained alongside his compatriot and fellow amateur star, Faisal Salhab, who is also competing this week.

“To have been given the opportunity to play a few holes with the Open Champion and get his advice on how to best compete this week as an amateur was a great experience for me” said Al-Sharif. “It was great to get some pointers from Shane on how to win and I am hoping to put them into action and test myself against some of the world’s best golfers.”

On the PGA Tour, Spain's Jon Rahm is the hot favourite for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where a win could catapult him to No 1 in the world should Koepka fail to finish in the top four in Saudi Arabia.

However, the proposed Premier Golf League (PGL), which would feature a team element, remains a hot topic on both sides of the pond.

Phil Mickelson (49) played in yesterday’s pro-am in Saudi Arabia with the backers of the new league and picked their brains about the concept.

He will be aware that PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan has warned players that they can’t have their cake and eat it. But his interest in nuts and bolts of the idea is telling

The PGL plans to stage 18 tournaments worldwide with 48-player fields competing for $10 million purses with the first season starting in 2022 or 2023.

The problem for the proposed new tour is that the concept of having 12 player-owners of team franchises would put potential rebels in breach of PGA Tour regulations prohibiting players from having a financial interest in other players, as Monahan pointed out in a letter to members.

“If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after, our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series,” Monahan warned.