Shane Lowry Blows Late Lead
Shane Lowry "threw away" a late lead at the Cognizant Classic at PGA National, surrendering his advantage on the back nine with his 4-year-old daughter in attendance. Lowry expressed heartbreak over the missed opportunity, which would have been a special win for him. This marks another near-miss for Lowry, who has endured multiple close calls in recent PGA Tour seasons.
The collapse for Shane Lowry began on the 16th hole at PGA National, the start of the infamous "Bear Trap." Holding a three-shot lead, Lowry's tee shot found the water, leading to a double bogey. This was the first time in his PGA Tour career that he made back-to-back double bogeys, repeating the error on the 17th by again finding the water. The beneficiary of Lowry's misfortune was Colombia's Nico Echavarria, who played a bogey-free final round of 66. While Lowry was struggling, Echavarria birdied the 17th hole, a pivotal moment that tied him for the lead. Echavarria finished at 17-under, two strokes clear of Lowry, to claim his third PGA Tour victory and a winner's check of $1.728 million. This marks another painful close call for Lowry at this specific event. In 2022, then called The Honda Classic, he was leading late before a sudden downpour on the final hole contributed to him finishing one shot behind winner Sepp Straka. He also held the solo lead going into the final round in 2024 before finishing fourth. The loss extends a significant winless streak for Lowry in individual stroke-play events on American soil. His last such victory was the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2015. This was his second near-miss of the 2026 season, having also lost a lead at the Dubai Invitational in January. Lowry's next scheduled start is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
