(PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.) — Shane Lowry had already pictured the moment.
With a three-shot lead and three holes to play at the Cognizant Classic, the Irishman imagined his 4-year-old daughter — fiery red hair bouncing — racing across the 18th green at PGA National to celebrate his victory.
Instead, she watched her father’s title hopes disappear into the water.
Lowry’s commanding lead unraveled in stunning fashion Sunday when he carded back-to-back double bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes, tumbling into a tie for second — two shots behind Colombia’s Nico Echavarria.
“I wanted it so bad,” Lowry said. “Just to see her little ginger hair running down 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.”
For much of the afternoon, it looked inevitable.
But at the par-4 16th — the start of PGA National’s treacherous “Bear Trap” — Lowry’s trusted 3-iron drifted badly right and splashed into the water. After a penalty drop, a wedge back to the fairway and a bunker visit, he salvaged a double bogey.
Moments later, Echavarria seized the opening. His tee shot at the par-3 17th settled inside 10 feet. The birdie putt dropped, and he punched the air as Lowry’s advantage evaporated in a stunning five-shot swing.
Lowry’s struggles weren’t over. Another wayward tee shot at 17 found water, leading to a second consecutive double bogey. Just like that, the tournament was gone.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed,” Lowry said. “I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away. What more can I say? That’s twice this year now so far. I’m getting good at it. … I played unbelievable all day, and one bad shot on 16 completely threw me for the last three holes.”
The collapse echoed an earlier heartbreak this season. At the Dubai Invitational in January, Lowry stood on the 72nd hole with the lead, only to make double bogey when a par would have secured a playoff berth.
His history at PGA National has been equally complicated. He has now finished 11th or better five straight years, including a near miss in 2022 when a sudden rainstorm hit the final hole and altered the tournament’s finish.
“I was beaten that day,” Lowry said. “But I beat myself today.”
Lowry, 38, hasn’t won an individual PGA Tour title in the United States since the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational. He did team with Rory McIlroy to capture the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and played a pivotal role in Europe’s victory at the 2023 Ryder Cup, sealing the win with the clinching putt.
That made Sunday’s sting all the more puzzling.
“How do I feel like this now when I went through what I did last September and got through that fine?” Lowry said. “I just felt like it was weird out there; I couldn’t feel the clubface the last three holes after my tee shot on 16. It was strange. What can I say? It’s very disappointing. This is going to be hard to take.”
For three holes, Lowry had the tournament — and a father’s dream — firmly in his grasp.
Then the water took both.
