Smylie Kaufman has given his take on Shane Lowry’s collapse at the Cognizant Classic, where two double bogeys in the final three holes cost him a shot at the title.
Lowry was on track to earn his first PGA Tour win since he and Rory McIlroy claimed the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
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The Irishman reached The Bear Trap sitting at six under for his round, but things quickly fell apart from there.
After finding the water on 16 and 17, Lowry carded back-to-back doubles that gave Nico Echavarria a two-shot victory.
Smylie Kaufman reacts to Shane Lowry failing to win the Cognizant Classic
Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Lowry’s PGA Tour record has not matched up with his talent. He is a major champion and played a key role in Europe’s Ryder Cup defence at Bethpage last September.
However, speaking on The Smylie Show, Kaufman said that the 38-year-old appeared to struggle with the pressure late on at PGA National.
He said: “Let’s go back to January, and Shane Lowry is in Dubai. He has a chance to win the golf tournament in Dubai by birdieing the last hole. Par gets him into a playoff. He makes double bogey. He’s now just converted a 54-hole lead one of six times. He’s won three PGA Tour events, one with Rory McIlroy that’s most recent. Obviously, the most recent individual one he won was 2019 at The Open Championship. It’s definitely something now that’s going to be the monkey on his back.
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“When it comes to closing golf tournaments, Shane Lowry had the most important putt last September to secure the point, so to say that he can’t do it is quite unfair. But we also have to look at what we’ve seen and say hey, there seems to be a pattern here.
“The only thing you can attribute those swings to, for a guy who’s typically one of the most accurate drivers of the golf ball, one of the best iron players in the game; his approach to the green stats last year had him third, we’re talking about a player whose strengths should be magnified down the stretch at PGA National, and the only thing you can attribute all that to is just pressure.”
Shane Lowry’s final round scoring average on the PGA Tour
The issue for Lowry was not just where his shots ended up, but how unnecessary the risks were. On 16, there was no real reason to challenge the right side, and by 17 it was clear almost immediately that he was in trouble.
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Despite that, he ranks 25th on tour for final round scoring average this season, so closing tournaments is not a glaring weakness.
That is what made this collapse so surprising. He let a win slip through his fingers.
The silver lining here is that there is not a consistent pattern across all of his missed opportunities. His run at Bethpage last year, for example, was nothing short of remarkable.
In fact, his performance to help secure the Ryder Cup will be remembered long after Sunday’s struggles at PGA National are forgotten.
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