ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) \u2014 It\u2019s OK to feel sad for Shane Lowry.<\/p>\n
He had one hand on the trophy and the other hand outstretched to hug his 4-year-old daughter when she ran onto the 18th green at PGA National to celebrate the first time seeing her father win. That was the plan, anyway. Lowry could practically picture the whole scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to see her little ginger hair running down the 18th green would have been the most special thing in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought I had it. I thought I was going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was before he hit 3-iron off the 16th tee and into the water and had to scramble for a double bogey just to stay one shot ahead. Before he could hit another shot, Lowry watched Nico Echavarria make birdie on the par-3 17th to tie him. And then Lowry hit a chip 7-iron \u2014 perfect number, perfect club, imperfect swing \u2014 into the water for another double bogey.<\/p>\n
A five-shot swing in two holes<\/a>. It was cruel to watch, and especially painful to hear him talk about how badly he wanted to win for 4-year-old Ivy, no one else.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s no need to feel sorry for Lowry.<\/p>\n There will be other opportunities, perhaps more painful outcomes, no promises. Such is sport. This is what golf does to players at the highest level. The game can turn on the best of them without notice, as it did Sunday in the Cognizant Classic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGolf does strange things to you at times,\u201d Lowry said, \u201cand it certainly did it to me today.\u201d<\/p>\n Lowry, of course, has plenty of company on far bigger stages.<\/p>\n Scott Hoch missing a 30-inch putt to win the Masters in 1989 comes to mind. Later that year was an even greater gut-wrenching moment when Mike Reid lost a three-shot lead with three holes to play in the PGA Championship. He was in tears meeting with the press, stopping six times to compose himself.<\/p>\n Bob Verdi wrote in his column for the Chicago Tribune that Jack Nicklaus sought out Reid in the locker room at Kemper Lakes and his voice cracked when he told Reid, \u201cI just wanted to say I\u2019ve never felt so bad for anyone in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n It happens.<\/p>\n But it was something Lowry said late Sunday afternoon when trying to decipher how one bad swing on the 16th tee could leave him unable to feel the club face. Lowry said he told caddie Darren Reynolds, \u201cHow do I feel like this now when I went through what I did last September in Bethpage and got through that fine?\u201d<\/p>\n It was a reminder not just how fickle golf is, but the extraordinary gap between the highs and lows.<\/p>\n Yes, it was only five months ago when Lowry birdied three of his last four holes, the last one from 6 feet to secure the half-point Europe needed to retain the Ryder Cup. What a moment!<\/a> He pumped his fists and spun around the green while squeezing every teammate he could find.<\/p>\n \u201cCoolest thing I\u2019ve done in my life,\u201d Lowry said that day, strong words coming from an Irishman who won the claret jug at Royal Portrush.<\/p>\n Jim Furyk is the only Ryder Cup player who was on both sides of the decisive match against Europe. He watched Paul McGinley celebrate a European win at The Belfry in 2002, and it was Furyk\u2019s win against Miguel Angel Jimenez that clinched it for the Americans at Valhalla in 2008.<\/p>\n His conclusion of those moments?<\/p>\n \u201cLosing always hurts worse than winning feels good,\u201d Furyk once said.<\/p>\n