Shane Lowry's final-round collapse at the Masters was so devastating that he refused to speak to the press, denying close friend Rory McIlroy the chance to battle alongside him for the Green Jacket. The 39-year-old Irishman entered Sunday in fourth place, just two strokes off the lead held by McIlroy and Cam Young, but carded a disastrous 80 to tumble to a share of 30th place.
The meltdown cost Lowry nearly £700,000 in prize money, as he dropped from a potential £804,000 payout to just £114,000. Despite the disappointment, Lowry did attend McIlroy's victory ceremony, warmly embracing his friend after McIlroy became only the fourth player in history to win back-to-back Masters titles.
McIlroy admitted he had been keeping an eye on Lowry's score throughout the final round, saying: 'I was out there today looking at Shane's score because I was interested to see, if I didn't win today, I wish I would have been putting the Green Jacket on him.'
Lowry's 80 marked the second consecutive year he has shot 80 or worse at Augusta, an unwanted pattern for the 2019 Open champion. He was unavailable for interview after the round, but his presence at the ceremony suggested he had put aside his own disappointment to celebrate McIlroy's historic achievement.
