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Shane Lowry to miss French Open to defend WGC-Bridgestone title

Shane Lowry has confirmed he will defend his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title instead of appearing at the European Tour’s Open de France.

A change in the PGA Tour's schedule to accommodate golf's return to the Olympics means the two tournaments will be held in the same week, leaving players with a tough decision to pick which event to play in.

Lowry secured a three-year PGA Tour membership by claiming victory at Firestone Country Club last year, finishing two shots clear of nearest challenger Bubba Watson, and the Irishman has decided to return to the venue of his maiden PGA Tour title.

Lowry claimed a two-shot win at Firestone last summer
Image: Lowry claimed a two-shot win at Firestone last summer

The European Tour has pulled its sanctioning of the no-cut event in Ohio to encourage their big-name players to appear in France, where double Ryder Cup points and increased prize money will be on offer.

Not playing in Paris significantly reduces Lowry's hopes of automatically qualifying for Darren Clarke's side for Hazeltine, but the Irishman admits an improvement to his game is his initial concern.

"I've known for a while in my own mind that I wanted to defend in Akron," Lowry told the Irish Times. "Any players I've spoken to have said I'm right, even though it won't count on the European Tour this season and doesn't have any Ryder Cup points.

STRAFFAN, IRELAND - MAY 20:  Shane Lowry of Ireland on the par four 11th  hole during the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory
Image: The Irishman is without a top-15 finish in his past 10 worldwide starts

"If I'd had a good Wentworth and made progress up the Ryder Cup qualifying table, I might have felt differently.

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"But first and foremost I need to get back and focused on my own game and forget about everything else that's going on around me. So, I've mapped out a schedule that has the US Open and then a stretch that takes in the Bridgestone, Scottish Open and the Open Championship."

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World No 3 Rory McIlroy and Masters champion Danny Willett have already announced they will be playing at Le Golf National, home of the 2018 Ryder Cup, where Bernd Wiesberger defends his title. 

Lowry currently lies 22nd in the European Ryder Cup points list - more than 1,300,000 points from an automatic qualification spot - and 24th in the world points list.

He followed a tied-23rd finish at the K Club last month with a missed cut at the BMW PGA Championship, while his best performance in 2016 is a top-six display at the Phoenix Open. 

Watch both the Open de France and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational live from June 30-July 3 on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf

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