Shane Lowry is Unrecognizable Without a Beard

Shane Lowry is taking a nice stroll in the rain in his homeland this Sunday, enjoy what appears to be a leisurely jaunt to his first major championship at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

The rotund Irishman fills almost every cliche you can think of when checking off what an Irishman should look like, from his rosy demeanor to his rosy cheeks, hidden behind a nice brown beard. However, he didn’t always look like this.

In fact, Lowry looked nothing like he does today when he won the Irish Open in 2009. One reason: the beard. Let’s take a look at that young man without his facial hair.

Same belly, same smile, same boyish excitement to be playing golf and winning, different man altogether. Of course, that’s expected to happen over a decade. People get older and decide to mess with their look. But the difference between then and now is striking.