Shane Lowry Blows It While Nico Echevarria Steals Cognizant Classic
Nico Echevarria didn't make a bogey in the final two rounds of the Cognizant Classic. Shane Lowry hadn't either until he collapsed at the very end. The Irish golfer's late stumble was just enough for Echevarria to sneak past with a two-stroke victory.
Nico Echevarria steals Cognizant Classic with terrific weekend
Nico Echevarria was three strokes back of the lead with three holes to play. In other words, his chances of winning were incredibly slim. Yet, he emerged with a 66 in the final round and the trophy. He beat Shane Lowry, Taylor Moore, and Austin Smotherman by two shots when it was all said and done.
"It was a blessing today," Echavarria said via ESPN. "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."
It would not have mattered if it weren't for an uncharacteristic collapse by Lowry, who was struck by back-to-back double bogeys on the par-4 16th and par-3 17th holes. Those two misses cost him four strokes, and he only lost by two.
This marked another close call without a win at PGA National. He's finished in the top 11 five times in a row but has not been able to win. It's one of the venues that has given him the most trouble, at least in terms of coming out on top.
"I'm obviously extremely disappointed," Lowry revealed after the tournament. "I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away. 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."
Big money in a big win
Nico Echevarria won his third tournament as a result. It is his first in the contiguous United States, and it got him a nice $1.728 million payday. That is the largest winner's check he has ever been given. Additionally, it scored Echevarria an invite to The Masters this spring.
With the money, Echevarria can recover from closing on a house recently and get a dog. He promised his wife that once he won his third event, he would get the family a dog. He could only watch, though, as Lowry attempted a miracle.
Lowry's tee shot on the 16th found the water, putting him behind the eight ball immediately. After taking a drop, he got back on the fairway and then found a bunker. He managed to make it to about three feet from there, but the damage had been done, and he got his first double-bogey while Echevarria was ahead of him on the course.
Then, the 17th provided more disaster. His iron shot was nowhere close, and he took another double bogey. He needed an absolute miracle on the 18th when he landed in a bunker. He had to go for broke and missed, sealing Echevarria's Cognizant Classic victory while he watched from the tent.
Lowry was very stunned with his poor finish. "How do I feel like this now when I went through what I did last September in Bethpage and got through that fine?" the golfer said. "I just felt like it was weird out there; I just couldn't feel the clubface the last three holes then after my tee shot on 16. It was strange. What can I say? It's very disappointing. This is going to be hard to take."
The PGA Tour returns next weekend with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a Signature Event.
