Shane Lowry watches his ball fly ball into the water Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
By Drew Lerner on

Sitting on the 16th tee with a three-shot lead over second place, Shane Lowry could practically taste the fourth PGA Tour win of his career.

But they don’t call the final stretch of holes at PGA National the Bear Trap for nothing. And Lowry fell right into the teeth of the trap on Sunday evening. After spraying his tee shot on 16 into the drink and walking off the green with a double bogey, Lowry fell to 17-under on the tournament. His commanding lead took a hit, but it wasn’t devastating. Per the website Datagolf, Lowry’s chances of winning the tournament fell from a 96.7% chance before his double bogey to a 76.7% chance immediately after.

Ideal? No. But disaster could still be avoided.

Enter: the Par-3 17th hole at PGA National. Lowry once again manages to find the water on his tee shot, and again walks away with double bogey. His chances swung from 76.7% to just 3% in an instant.

By the time Lowry took the tee box on 18, the opportunity had been squandered, barring a miracle eagle which did not come.

Watching a player collapse late in a golf tournament is nothing new. But to see a player of Lowry’s caliber do it in such dramatic fashion was completely unexpected. But credit to the Irishman, who chatted about the circumstances at length with the media following his runner-up finish.

“I’m obviously extremely disappointed. I had the tournament in my hands and I threw it away. What more can I say?” Lowry told the press. “Look, what can I say? I played unbelievable all day and then one bad shot on 16 completely threw me for the last three holes. It’s never happened to me before. …I just felt like, it was weird out there. Just couldn’t feel the clubface in the last three holes after my tee shot on 16. It was strange. What can I say? It’s very very disappointing. This is going to be hard to take, yeah.

“The hardest thing about today is I’ve never won in front of my four-year-old. She was there waiting for me. I only wanted it for her today. I don’t care about anything else. Like, I wanted this so bad just to see her little ginger head run out on the 18th green would’ve been the most special thing in the world. I thought I had it. Thought I was going to win. I didn’t get ahead of myself, but I felt so confident.”

Lowry was praised for his candidness with the media following the loss.

For as much as golfers are criticized for avoiding the media after similar losses, it’s important to acknowledge when they do decide to speak with the press after a particularly difficult round. Shane Lowry was not obligated to speak with anybody, but he chose to do so because he realizes the benefit it can provide. Fans now see him as human. They relate to him in a way that would’ve been impossible if he had just packed up and went home. And ultimately, it gives fans even more of a reason to root for him in the future.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

View all posts by Drew Lerner