Shane Lowry’s collapse Sunday at the Cognizant Classic hit harder than usual.
Lowry held a three-shot lead before the 16th hole but coughed it up with two straight double bogeys, putting the ball in the water off the tee on both holes and finishing in second. He’s felt this pain before — surrendering advantages in 2022 and 2024 in the event.
But this time, it meant more. Lowry’s 4-year-old daughter, Ivy, was present in the crowd. With Lowry’s last major win coming at the 2019 British Open, he’s never won in front of her.
Sunday’s disappointment extended that streak.
“(Ivy) was there waiting for me and I only wanted it for her today,” a gutted Lowry said after the outing. “I didn’t care about anything else, I wanted so bad to see her little ginger head running out on the 18th green. (It) would have been the most special thing in the world.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed. I had the tournament in my hands and I threw it away. What more can I say?
“The hardest thing about today is that I’ve never won in front of my four-year-old.”
Lowry had a five-hole stretch beginning at hole 9 where he went 5 under. But that was all undone when his tee shot at hole 16 sailed wide right into the water.
He said the poor strike threw him off, and that he “just couldn’t feel the club face on the last three holes.”
Colombia’s Nico Echavarria tied Lowry on 17 with a birdie after flirting with the water on his tee shot. Lowry’s tee shot on 17 then missed the green way right and into the water again, giving room for Echavarria to claim victory at 17 under.
Lowry slipped to 15 under, falling into a three-way tie for second. It was his best-ever finish at PGA National, but it still left a sour feeling in his mouth.
“I thought I had it, I thought I was going to win,” said Lowry, who lives close to the Florida course. “I didn’t get ahead of myself but I was so comfortable out there. And then… I did the only thing I couldn’t really do.”
The loss prolonged a tough stretch for the Irishman. He hasn’t won a tournament in the United States since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2015. At PGA National, he’s finished in the top 11 the past five years.
He did, though, help capture the Ryder Cup for Europe last fall and won the 2024 Zurich Classic alongside Rory McIlroy.
But he’ll be thinking about this missed opportunity for a long time — especially with Ivy in the crowd.
