Shane Lowry has spoken emotionally about losing a three-shot lead in the final four holes of the Cognizant Classic in front of his four-year-old daughter, Ivy. The 2019 Open champion, who has yet to win in front of his youngest child, described the missed opportunity as 'the hardest thing' about the day.
Lowry, whose eldest daughter Iris was present for his major victory at Royal Portrush, said he only wanted the win for Ivy. 'I only wanted it for her today. I don't care about anything else. I wanted it so bad. Just to see her little ginger head running out on the 18th green would have been the most special thing in the world,' he said.
Back-to-back double bogeys in the Bear Trap at PGA National cost Lowry, finishing two shots behind winner Nico Echavarria and tied for second with Taylor Moore. The collapse also cost him approximately £750,000, as he earned around £544,000 instead of the nearly £1.3million winners' cheque.
Lowry admitted he felt comfortable before hitting two poor shots at the wrong time. 'I'm obviously extremely disappointed. I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away,' he said. 'That's twice this year now so far, so I'm getting good at it.'
The Irishman had also blown a chance to win the Dubai Invitational in January, where he held a one-shot lead before a double-bogey on the final hole. Comparing the two events, Lowry said: 'Dubai was hard at the start of the year, but this is going to be pretty hard.'
