BFFs
Masters 2025: Shane Lowry pens touching congratulations to Ryder Cup ride-or-die Rory McIlroy following Masters triumph
Augusta National
Shane Lowry had a terrible, no good, very bad Sunday at Augusta National. Lowry tee’d off at five-under par, seven shots back of leader Rory McIlroy. Then the wheels came off. Seven bogeys and two doubles later, the 2019 Open champ stumbled his way into the clubhouse with a nine-over 81, a whopping 15 shots back of his Ryder Cup compatriot and eventual winner.
Lowry's skid began on Saturday with a bogey-bogey finish to his third round. Afterward, Lowry told reporters he was in no mood to “stand around and talk about Rory for 10 minutes." That rubbed some the wrong way, but on Sunday evening, when the chips were down, Lowry was there for his friend, embracing him in a bear hug as he walked off the 18th green before posting this touching tribute to X on Tuesday. Check it out.
Honestly, we love this. Golf can be a very isolating sport. True friends can be in short supply when everyone is competing directly against one another. Somehow, Lowry managed to sum up that struggle in a single sentence:
“I’ve never been happier to watch someone else achieve something that I want so badly myself.”
You don’t have to play professional golf to relate to that sentiment. One of the hardest things in life is being happy for the accomplishments of those around you when things aren’t going well for yourself. To genuinely feel that for another is a sign of true friendship, and it appears Lowry and McIlory have that. That’s great news for pro golf as a whole … but less so for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.