Shane Lowry Just Had The Most Inexplicable PGA Tour Meltdown In Years

Golf is a weird sport that can make the best players in the world look like amateurs at any moment. Shane Lowry, a major and Ryder Cup champion, had a three-shot lead at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches with three holes to play. Lowry, who lives in The Palm Beaches, has played well in the Cognizant in the past but had never been able to win it. 

It seemed like that was about to change. Lowry entered Sunday's final round in a tie for first place with Austin Smotherman. Lowry started slowly, making par on the first four holes and only converting one birdie through the first eight. 

That's when the big Irishman caught fire. Lowry birdied 9, eagled 10, and birdied 12 and 13 to open up a three-shot lead over the closest chaser, Nico Echavarria. All Lowry had to do, realistically, was keep the ball in play for the final three holes and the tournament was his. 

Shane Lowry carried a three-shot lead into the final holes at the Cognizant Classic, but two water balls and two double bogeys opened the door for Nico Echavarria.

(Raj Mehta/Getty Images)

Lowry knew it, too, which is why he chose the conservative play and hit an iron off the tee at the 434-yard par-4 16th hole. Except Lowry inexplicably flared his iron shot way to the right and sent his golf ball into the water. He wound up making a double bogey, just as Echavarria made birdie on the par-3 17th hole to tie Lowry at the top. It was a three-shot swing in the span of about 5 minutes. 

But Lowry wasn't done melting down. After watching Echavarria knock in a birdie, Lowry promptly dumped another tee shot into the water. He made another double bogey and went from leading by three to trailing by two in the span of two holes and about 15 minutes. 

Echavarria made par on the par-5 18th hole, which meant Lowry had to make eagle to force a playoff. But the big man couldn't pull it off, hitting his second shot into a greenside bunker. 

It was honestly shocking to watch Lowry completely fall apart on the final three holes. At one point, I noticed that Lowry was -1500 on DraftKings (roughly 94% implied probability) to win the Cognizant Classic. According to Data Golf, Lowry had about a 97% chance of winning when he was standing on the 16th tee. 

But, as they say, "that's why they play the game."