Shane Lowry has had his fair share of Masters moments, headlined by a magical hole-in-one at Augusta National’s 16th. Now, with Rory McIlroy finally in the Butler Cabin, he’s more convinced than ever that his time at the Masters could be coming – and he’s already imagining the mother of all Irish celebrations if it does.
Shane Lowry’s CV may not contain the number of professional tournament victories that he’d like, but his career highlight reel is the envy of many of his peers.
And when he wins, he tends to win big.
Lowry’s first taste of the Masters Tournament came in 2015, and he found out exactly why Amen Corner got its name. By the time he’d signed for a level-par 72 in round two and missed the cut by the minimum, it was easy to look back on his double bogeys on 11 and 13 in the opening round as being the main culprits.
Fast-forward 12 months, and though he’d come roaring out of the traps to birdie four of his first five holes on day one, Amen Corner and several other holes had taken its toll once again over the following rounds. Still, even though he was well down the field by the time he reached the 16th tee on Sunday, he was continuing his schooling at Alistair MacKenzie’s masterpiece, and he was about to pick up his first piece of Augusta National crystal.
In 79 previous stagings, there had only been 15 holes-in-one recorded at the Masters. But it was about to become 16. Lowry’s 8-iron landed in the perfect spot, skipped forward a pace or two, then began to curl towards the cup. It was as close to perfection as you can get, as had it missed, he’d have had a short tap-in on a hole where leaving the ball inches the other side was virtually impossible.
Jubilation ensued on the tee, with Lowry high fiving all round him, but sadly, one of the people he’d most liked to have shared the moment with had just left him.
“It’s the only Masters my mum has ever been to, and she walked in after the 15th,” he laughed. “I think it was to get from 12-over to 10-over for the tournament or something like that, but she missed it.”
There was a nice symmetry to it – the 16th hole-in-one in Masters history, coming on the 16th hole in 2016. That, later added to with aces on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass in 2022 and the 7th at Pebble Beach in 2025, means that he’s now ticked off competitive holes-in-one on three of the five most iconic par-3s in world golf.
“Maybe the 12th at Augusta or the Postage Stamp [at Royal Troon] – I think they would be the top five. I’m a very excitable sort of fella, and I got pretty high off the ground there,” he said, looking back at the footage.
In terms of standout individual Augusta National moments, that remains Lowry’s highlight – not even watching his daughter Iris hole a putt during last year’s Par-3 Contest could surpass that – but as he’s become more familiar with the course – this will be his 11th Masters Tournament – he’s grown to love it and he now knows that he’s got what it takes to win, especially after finishing tied for third in 2022.
“Not only is it my favourite week of the year, but the week before is one of my favourite weeks preparing for it. I just love it and that’s why I do it.”
“The big thing I can take away from the last two days being in contention around here is how comfortable I felt on the golf course,” he said after the final round in a year where Rory McIlroy finished a then career-high second and Scottie Scheffler was handed his first green jacket. “I’m proud of the way I handled myself.”
While it’s unlikely that anything in his career will ever surpass the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, he had set his sights on becoming the first Irishman to win the Masters.
“Not only is it my favourite week of the year, but the week before is one of my favourite weeks preparing for it. I just love it and that’s why I do it,” he said in 2024. “But nobody remembers who finished third.
“In 20 years’ time, finishing third in the Masters doesn’t get you back in those gates. First does though, so that’s the main goal.”
Along with the T3 finish, he finished tied for 16th in 2023 and has earned himself a weekend tee time in each of the last six stagings – further evidence that he’s learned the intricacies of Augusta National and, crucially, how to avoid the big numbers that proved catastrophic in his first few attempts.
That ‘first Irish Masters winner’ ship may have sailed though, but despite his disappointing finish to the 2025 Masters, he had plenty cause to be in celebratory mood on Sunday evening. He even found time to coerce Augusta National’s sommelier into breaking club rules and allowing him to take a case of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine – taking a healthy chunk out of his own earnings for the week – to share with his close friend that night at the rental house that served as McIlroy’s base camp for the week.
But having served as chief party-planner last year, what about being the guest of honour at a similar shindig this year?
Just as Pádraig Harrington’s major-winning spurt in the late noughties inspired first Graeme McDowell, then McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Lowry himself to believe that they had what it took to become major champions themselves, Lowry hopes that McIlroy ending the hoodoo that Augusta National had previously held over his fellow countrymen can spark something similar in the mid-2020s.
“I’m not getting any younger, but I think my game is as good as it has ever been. That would be unbelievable. There’d be some nice celebrations after that!”
How special would it be to have two Irishmen in the Butler Cabin on Sunday evening this year, with McIlroy presenting Lowry with a green jacket of his own? A gift that would surpass the case of Chateau Lafite Rothschild and then some.
“That would be incredible,” Lowry said. “I’m not getting any younger, but I think my game is as good as it has ever been. That would be unbelievable. There’d be some nice celebrations after that!”
The above feature appeared in the 2026-3 edition or Irish Golfer. To view the full edition click below
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