Shane Lowry admitted that he didn’t have it in him to join Rory McIlroy for his Masters celebrations as the wounds of another missed opportunity for a victory stung too much.
Lowry was present to greet McIlroy with a hug but it was more reserved than last year’s bear hug and he later texted McIlroy that he was too dejected to repeat the party celebrations of 2025 when he called over with an expensive case of wine.
The Offaly man began Sunday’s final round just two shots off the pace but crashed to a closing 80 as his victory drought continued. He has work to do this week to break his duck after opening with a one-under 70 at the RBC Heritage to lie seven shots behind Ludvig Åberg at Harbour Town and he admitted it was difficult to find the motivation after Sunday’s disappointment.
“I woke up this morning, and I felt like Thursday came around pretty quickly this week,” Lowry told Golf Channel. “It’s been a tough few days.
“You know, I felt like I played a lot of good golf last week and got really nothing out of it.
“It’s always hard to do that when you prepare so much for a tournament like that and perform as good as I did for a few days.
“But I try to take as many positives as I can. And today, I feel like it was always gonna be a tough enough round to get my kind of mojo back, and I felt like I played nice today.”
As for the Masters and McIlroy’s second win in a row, he admitted he was too disappointed to celebrate with the Holywood star and texted him to say he would be licking his wounds this time.
“Obviously, you know the stories from last year. I called over to his house with a case of wine and all that,” Lowry said.
“I texted him on Sunday night, and I said, ‘Honestly, I’m so happy for you, but I don’t have it in me tonight to go over and celebrate’.
“I was feeling a bit down and dejected a little bit, so I just stayed at home with my crew, but I’ll see him in a couple of weeks in Florida.”
Lowry looked in complete control of his game for 54 holes at the Masters, continuing the fabulous golf he has played for much of the year but yet again he came away empty handed as he added to his Sunday woes which saw him blow opportunities to win in Dubai and at the Cognizant Classic. But he won’t throw in the towel.
“This game has given me a lot of punches in the gut this year,” Lowry said. “It’s testing me a little bit, but, you know, I’m not going to stop working hard.
“I’m not going to give up, and I’m going to give my best for as long as I may be playing this game.”
As for his bid to hunt down Åberg he added: “I think if my putter gets hot, I’ll just be dangerous.
“I don’t feel bad on the greens. I feel like I hit a good putt down the last and missed by a foot. It was just a bad read
“Honestly, I feel like if I hole a few putts, I’m doing a lot well.”
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