What Shane Lowry Texted Rory McIlroy After Being Too ‘Down' to Celebrate His Masters Win

After Rory McIlroy's Masters win last Sunday, the Northern Irishman was asked in his winner's press conference if he had been watching the leaderboard during the final round.

The answer was yes, but not necessarily in the way you'd think.

"I was out there today looking at [Shane Lowry's] score because I was interested to see, if I didn't win today, I wish I would have been putting the Green Jacket on him," McIlroy said.

Lowry, however, shot a final-round 80 and finished T37, despite starting the day two strokes back of the lead.

And even though McIlroy and Lowry are close friends, the Irishman, after a brutal day on the course, couldn't bring himself to celebrate McIlroy's victory on Sunday night.

"I texted him Sunday night, and I said, ‘Honestly, I'm so happy for you, but I don't have it in me tonight to come over and celebrate with you,'" Lowry told Golf Channel Thursday at the RBC Heritage.

"I was feeling a bit down and dejected, so I just sat at home with my crew. I'll see him in a couple of weeks down in Florida."

Needing one stroke on No. 6, Shane Lowry cards an ace. #themasterspic.twitter.com/SAr9uy2KBs

- The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2026

That wasn't the case a year ago, when McIlroy won his first Masters to complete the career Grand Slam. Lowry was squarely part of McIlroy's post-victory celebration, even though that Sunday in Augusta he shot an 81 en route to a T42 finish. Similar to this year, Lowry began the final round in contention, sitting seven strokes off the lead (the same as Justin Rose, who forced a playoff before falling to McIlroy).

"Obviously, you know the stories from last year," Lowry said. "I called over to his house with a case of wine and all that."

The two have been there for each other throughout their careers. When Lowry won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, McIlroy was waiting behind the 18th green.

This year, however, has been difficult for Lowry. He fumbled a three-stroke lead in the final three holes of the Cognizant Classic, and at the DP World Tour's Dubai Invitational, he led by a stroke on the final hole before splashing a chip from the greenside bunker to finish third.

"This game has given me a lot of punches in the gut this year," Lowry 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."

But when the sun had set in Augusta, and McIlroy was once again wearing the green jacket, Lowry wasn't in a celebratory mood.

"I felt like I played a lot of good golf last week and got really nothing out of it," Lowry said. "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."

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 2:22 PM.