Palm Beach Gardens – Two things can be true. On Sunday at PGA National, the Bear Trap grabbed a victim… and coronated another.
Shane Lowery seemed destined to win the Cognizant Classic since he made Palm Beach his adopted American hometown several years ago. He has publicly talked about his love of the event, and how great it would be to win here. On Sunday, it was all his for the taking, a three-shot lead standing on the tee at the par-4 16th, perhaps thinking about how great it was going to be to finally win here… but surely he wasn’t going to let such thoughts creep in. Then a wayward 3-iron tee shot and a subsequent double bogey tightened things up a bit. At the same time, just a few yards away – now just one shot behind, Colombian Nico Echavarria hit a gutsy 7 iron into the par 3 17th, which just carried the water and settled 12 feet below the hole. He poured in the birdie and gave an emphatic fist pump. In an instant, they were now tied.
Minutes later, as Shane was reeling and Nico was soaring, they both teed off on the penultimate and final holes respectively, another foul ball into the water by Lowery took the energy out of the stunned partisan crowd. The Bear Trap had struck once again in a pivotal moment. Another double bogey, the first time in his PGA Tour career that Lowery had made back-to-back doubles. As Echavarria putted out for par on the final green to finish at 17 under par, he held a two-stroke lead and knew that the Irishman was unlikely to catch him. Shane Lowery had choked it away, and he knew it. There was no other way to describe it.
Nico celebrated afterward, and Lowery dealt with the media for postgame interviews, “I’m obviously extremely disappointed,” Lowery said. “I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away. What more can I say? That’s twice now this year so far. I’m getting good at it. I played unbelievable all day, and one bad shot on 16 threw me for the last three holes.”
Echavarria was grateful in victory, “I didn’t have my best stuff off the tee, but I was able to manage and had some good breaks to win. To win out here, sometimes you have to have good breaks.”
The win earned Echavarria a spot in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Taylor Moore, Keith Mitchell and Austin Smotherman also gained entry via their finishes.
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