Shane Lowry drew an interesting parallel to the Ryder Cup after letting his lead slip away at the Cognizant Classic.
Lowry was up by three over Nico Echavarria with just three holes left to play at The Bear’s Club, but things quickly fell apart.
He sent his tee shot out of bounds on the 16th, forcing a drop in the rough and resulting in a double bogey.
On the very next hole, he found the water again on the par-3 17th and carded another double bogey, falling behind Echavarria.
Lowry needed an eagle on the final hole to force a playoff but could only manage par.
He has addressed the contrast between his performance in clutch moments during regular tournaments and his showings at the Ryder Cup.
Shane Lowry opens up on pressure after Cognizant Classic finish
Lowry remains puzzled by his inability to handle the pressure when contending in regular PGA and DP World Tour events.
It is not a consistent problem, though. He has shown plenty of composure under pressure, particularly during the Ryder Cup.
The 38-year-old even made the putt that secured the Ryder Cup for Europe at Bethpage Black last September.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed. I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away. What more can I say? That’s twice this year so far. I’m getting good at it,” Lowry began by saying.
“Yeah, look, what can I say? I played unbelievable all day, and one bad shot on 16 completely threw me for the last three holes. It’s never happened to me before.
“I said to Darren, how do I feel like this now when I went through what I did last September in Bethpage and got through that fine. I just felt like it was weird out there; I just really couldn’t feel the club face the last three holes after my tee shot on 16. It was strange.
“What can I say? It’s very disappointing. Geez, this is going to be hard to take. Dubai was hard at the start of the year, but this is going to be pretty hard.”
This was not Lowry’s first late stumble of 2026 either – he also finished with a double bogey at Dubai Invitational earlier in January.
Shane Lowry reflects on critical double bogey on 17th hole
Even after his double bogey on the 16th, Lowry still held a strong position heading into the final stretch.
But things got worse when his 7-iron approach to the 166-yard par-3 17th did not even come close to staying dry.
“Yeah, no, I had an unbelievable up-and-down, obviously, to make 6 and stay one ahead, but then I go up and watch Nico hole that putt for birdie to go tied for the lead.
“Like, it was a perfect number for me, and it suited me perfectly. Wind was slightly in, out of the left, and that’s my bread and butter, a little chip 7-iron. But golf does strange things to you at times, and it certainly did it to me today,” Lowry concluded.
He now has to regroup quickly before heading into next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where how he responds will be closely watched.
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