Shane Lowry didn’t have a great outing at the Dubai Creek Resort. Playing the third edition of the Dubai Invitational, he came really close to winning the whole thing. However, an 18th hole blunder saw him get knocked out of the race to claim the title from Tommy Fleetwood. And he was not too happy about it.

Lowry tweeted, “18th season on Tour and golf never gets easier. Sore one to take yesterday but another opportunity this week. ☘️”

It looked like the contest between Lowry and Nacho Elvira would extend to the playoffs at Dubai Creek Resort. The Irishman was tied on scores with the eventual winner after 71 holes. However, he made a huge mistake on the 18th on Championship Sunday to lose the title.

Lowry scored a double bogey on the last hole. That pushed him from 10-under par to -8. In the end, he tied with his good friend, Rory McIlroy, on the leaderboard instead of beating him for the 2026 Dubai Invitational title. And that didn’t please him.

In the post-tournament interview, Lowry stated, “This is going to hurt, like, for a day or two. I haven’t won in a few years, and it’s hard to get over the line. I know this is not like the biggest tournament in the world, you still get [a chance] to beat Rory McIlroy down the stretch, and I almost did that.”

Picking up the loss from the jaws of defeat must have been gut-wrenching for Lowry. With another wasted opportunity, he continued his dry spell of individual title glory. He hasn’t won a singles title since 2022.

But he’s still optimistic about the upcoming DP World Tour event. With $9 million on the line at the Emirates Golf Club, Lowry will be much more eager to win the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Interestingly, as frustrated as Lowry was with his result, McIlroy wasn’t nearly as disappointed for finish at T3. He had an entirely different experience at the Dubai Creek Resort compared to his good friend.

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Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy have contrasting experiences in Dubai

Shane Lowry’s disappointment in losing the 2026 Dubai Invitational is understandable. He was extremely close to claiming the whole thing right until the very end. However, despite finishing at T3 alongside him, Rory McIlroy was a lot more constructive about his self-criticism.

McIlroy told the media, “I wasn’t really focused on winning the tournament. I was just trying to piece it together and make some good swings and try to hit a few more fairways, which I did for the most part. Would have been nice to hit the fairway at the last to give myself a chance for a birdie there.”

He was only two strokes away from tying for first place. But McIlroy understood where he lacked. A second round blunder of 3-over 74 was hard to recover from. Yet, he continued to push for a victory till the very end. However, that could only get him a T3 finish.