Pro golfer Shane Lowry was in no mood to celebrate his friend Rory McIlroy’s win at the 2026 Masters on Sunday, April 12.
Lowry, 39, entered the final day of the tournament just two strokes behind McIlroy, 36, but a disastrous round saw him plummet to 30th.
“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,” Lowry told Golf Monthly in a story published Friday, April 17. “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.’”
While Lowry struggled to finish The Masters, McIlroy had to fight to hold off Scottie Scheffler as he dealt with issues of his own. Ultimately, it was enough for McIlroy to win his second straight green jacket — something no golfer has done since 2002.
Even without Lowry, McIlroy has had plenty of friends and family to celebrate with over the last few days. After sinking his final putt to win the tournament, he shared a long hug with his five-year-old daughter, Poppy, then beckoned his wife, Erica Stoll, to join.
Earlier this week, the family was spotted with McIlroy’s parents, landing their private jet in Miami, not far from where they own a $22 million mansion.
During McIlroy’s trophy acceptance speech, he thanked his entire family for their support.
“First and foremost, my wife and daughter, Erica and Poppy,” he said. “They have to put up with me at home, and trust me, sometimes that’s a tough thing to do.”
McIlroy added, “My mum and dad, they weren’t here last year to celebrate with us and surprisingly I had to convince them to come this year because they thought the reason I won was because they weren’t here. I’m glad we proved that wrong, so they can keep coming as long as they want.”
Lowry, for his part, is finally able to reflect on losing nearly $1 million in prize money on the final day of the Masters.
“I woke up this morning, and I felt like Thursday came around pretty quickly this week,” he said. “It’s been a tough few days.”
Lowry continued, “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.”
Lowry also admitted that his Masters performance was one of the “punches in the gut” the game has given him in the past year.
“It’s testing me a little bit, but, you know, I’m not going to stop working hard,” he said. “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.”
