Lowry breaks silence on Masters heartbreak and McIlroy chat | Golf | Sport

Shane Lowry has conceded it has been ‘a tough few days’ in the wake of his Masters heartbreak at Augusta last Sunday.

The 39-year-old began the final round just two shots adrift of Rory McIlroy at the summit of the leaderboard, but ultimately finished in a tie for 30th place following an eight-over round of 80.

Lowry is competing at the RBC Heritage this week and finds himself seven shots behind leader Ludvig Aberg following the opening round. He started the tournament with a one-under round of 70 in South Carolina, which featured three birdies and two bogeys.

The 2019 Open champion addressed his Masters anguish afterwards, telling the Golf Channel: “I woke up this morning, and I felt like Thursday came around pretty quickly this week. It’s been a tough few days.

“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. And today, I feel like it was always gonna be a tough enough round to get my kind of mojo back, and I felt like I played nice today.”

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

“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’.

“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.”

He added: “This game has given me a lot of punches in the gut this year. 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.”