Shane Lowry admitted he was “extremely disappointed” after missing out on victory in front of his four-year-old daughter as he surrendered a three-shot lead down the stretch at the Cognizant Classic in Florida.
Lowry looked on course for a commanding victory at Palm Beach Gardens on Sunday, only to hit his tee shots into water on the 16th and 17th holes to record costly back-to-back double bogeys.
That allowed Colombia’s Nico Echavarria to close out a two-stroke victory on 17 under, with Lowry slipping back into a three-way tie for second on 15 under.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed,” Lowry said in a post-round interview. “I had the tournament in my hands and I threw it away, what more can I say?
“I played unbelievable all day and then one bad shot on 16 and it completely threw me for the last three holes. It’s never happened to me before.
“I said to Darren (Reynolds, his caddie) ‘how do I feel like this now when I went through what I did last September at Bethpage (at the Ryder Cup) and I got through it fine?’, and it was weird out there, I just couldn’t feel the club face on the last three holes after my tee shot on 16, it was strange.
“It’s very disappointing, this is going to be hard to take.”
He continued: “The hardest thing about today is that I’ve never won in front of my four-year-old.
“She was there waiting for me and I only wanted it for her today, I didn’t care about anything else, I wanted so bad to see her little ginger head running out on the 18th green would have been the most special thing in the world.
“I thought I had it, I thought I was going to win.”
It was yet more heartbreak for Lowry at the event having led until the latter, rain-hit stages in 2022 and also failing to convert a final-day advantage into victory two years ago.
This time he began the day with confidence as he built on his overnight share of the lead.
He birdied the fifth and then chipped in for another birdie at the ninth before really charging his round with an eagle at the 10th.
A superb approach left him with a five-foot putt for another birdie at the 12th and he holed out from 20 feet on 13 to move to 19 under par and three shots in front.
After steady pars on 14 and 15, he looked to be cruising but then everything began to unravel as he found the water from the 16th tee and could only manage a six. He found another lake on the 17th and, with Echavarria taking advantage to birdie and reach 17 under, his challenge was done.
Lowry also went into a bunker on the last and could only scramble a par, leaving him to sign for a two-under-par 69 and wonder what might have been.
Echavarria, by contrast, recorded a blemish-free 66 featuring five birdies.
Americans Taylor Moore and Austin Smotherman finished alongside Lowry.
Brooks Koepka finished in a tie for ninth on 10 under after a final-round 65, his best showing since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf.
PA
