Shane Lowry collapses in Cognizant Classic closing stages as Nico Echavarria claims Florida crown
Palm Beach Gardens — Nico Echavarria closed with a 5-under 66 to win the Cognizant Classic at PGA National, while shane lowry surrendered a three-shot lead with two double bogeys in the closing holes and settled for a share of second.
Shane Lowry's late collapse
Lowry, the joint-overnight leader after a bogey-free 63 on Saturday, had built a commanding position by making four birdies and an eagle at the 10th over the first 13 holes. He chipped in for birdie on the par-4 ninth to start a run where he went 5 under in a five-hole stretch, and he held a three-shot lead over Nico Echavarria going to the par-4 16th.
How the 16th unraveled things
At the par-4 16th Lowry's long iron off the tee drifted way right and found the water. After a penalty drop he hit a wedge back to the fairway, then his fourth shot found a greenside bunker. From an awkward stance he blasted to 3 1/2 feet and rolled in the putt for double bogey, trimming his lead to one.
Echavarria's bogey-free weekend
Echavarria, who did not make a bogey all weekend, hit his approach on the par-3 17th to about 10 feet and made the putt to pull into a tie, punching the air as he watched the ball roll in. He finished at 17-under 267, beating Lowry, Austin Smotherman and Taylor Moore by two shots.
17th and 18th sealed it
Lowry then made another double at the 17th when an iron shot was well short and right. On the par-5 18th he played his second shot into a greenside bunker; his shot from nearly 30 yards skidded by, and Echavarria, in the scoring tent watching the finish, knew he had won.
Scores, titles and milestones
Echavarria's 66 on Sunday gave him his third career PGA Tour win and his first in the United States, and it earned the 31-year-old from Colombia a second Masters invitation. The winner's check was $1. 728 million, about $200, 000 more than what he received for winning the Baycurrent Championship in Japan in 2024. Echavarria said, "It was a blessing today. I didn't have my best off the tee, but I was able to manage. I had some good breaks. To win out here, sometimes you have to have good breaks - if you're not Scottie Scheffler that hits it every time in the perfect place! So I'm happy with how it went. "
Lowry's reaction and history at PGA National
Lowry said: "I'm obviously extremely disappointed. I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away. " He added: "What more can I say? That's twice this year now so far. I'm getting good at it. I played unbelievable all day, and one bad shot on 16 completely threw me for the last three holes. It's never happened to me before. " He also said: "I said to [my caddie] Darren (Reynolds), how do I feel like this now when I went through what I did last September in Bethpage and got through that fine. But I beat myself today. I hit two really bad shots at the wrong time, and that's what this course does to you. "
Lowry shared second place on 15 under with Austin Smotherman and Taylor Moore. He remains snakebit by PGA National, where he has now finished in the top 11 for five straight years without a victory: second in 2022, tied for fifth in 2023, the solo lead going into the final round before finishing tied for fourth in 2024, then tied for 11th last year. "This was, on paper, his best finish at PGA National. It just didn't feel that way, " the record of his recent results shows.
Other notes from Sunday
Max Homa (tied for 13th) and Tom Kim (59th) had a doubleheader Sunday, playing for Jupiter Links in a TGL match roughly 5 miles away from PGA National. Homa said, "I doubt I have. I'm sure when I was young I might have got close, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. "
In the end, Nico Echavarria's flawless weekend and a late meltdown on the Bear Trap holes handed him the title while shane lowry was left to reflect on costly mistakes in the final stages.
