Masters pain proved too much for Shane Lowry to celebrate with victorious Rory McIlroy

Lowry was there to congratulate McIlroy on the win directly post-round, but his missed opportunity hurt a little too much for him to repeat the celebrations of last year. 

Shane Lowry on the 10th hole at the Augusta National Golf Club. Pic: AP Photo/Eric Gay

Shane Lowry admitted he was too dejected after his final round Augusta collapse to celebrate Rory McIlroy's back-to-back Masters win. 

While Lowry was there to congratulate McIlroy on the win directly post-round, his missed opportunity hurt a little too much for him to repeat the celebrations he enjoyed with his friend after McIlroy completed the Grand Slam last year. 

Lowry went into Sunday just two strokes behind the leader, but faded and shot 80 as his winless streak went on after the previous heartbreak of Dubai and at the Cognizant Classic.

After opening with a one-under 70 at the RBC Heritage this week, he sits seven strokes behind Ludvig Åberg.

“I woke up this morning, and I felt like Thursday came around pretty quickly this week,” Lowry told Golf Channel. “It’s been a tough few days.

“You know, I felt like I played a lot of good golf last week and got really nothing out of it.

“It’s always hard to do that when you prepare so much for a tournament like that and perform as good as I did for a few days.

“But I try to take as many positives as I can. And today, I feel like it was always gonna be a tough enough round to get my kind of mojo back, and I felt like I played nice today.”

Shane Lowry, right, and Rory McIlroy. Pic: Vaughn Ridley/Sportsfile

The Offaly golfer said he was too "down and dejected" to join McIlroy late into the night last Sunday, as he had done in 2025.

“I texted him on Sunday night, and I said, ‘Honestly, I’m so happy for you, but I don’t have it in me tonight to go over and celebrate’.

“I was feeling a bit down and dejected a little bit, so I just stayed at home with my crew, but I’ll see him in a couple of weeks in Florida.”

As for the golfing hits he's taken this year, Lowry added that he certainly won't be giving up hope.

“This game has given me a lot of punches in the gut this year,” he said. “It’s testing me a little bit, but, you know, I’m not going to stop working hard.

“I’m not going to give up, and I’m going to give my best for as long as I may be playing this game.”