His four year old daughter was following her dad all week, ready to storm the 18th green for the very first time, until…

When I am watching the final group on the last day of the tournament, I am hoping for a dramatic finish. Maybe a clutch birdie putt on the 18th to tie and force the match to go into a sudden-death playoff…or a rookie playing brilliantly all week trails from behind the favored leader and miraculously pull off a win, hoisting the trophy in front of thousand disappointed fans.

This past tournament, the Cognizant Classic at Palm Beach Gardens was a dramatic finish, but not what I expected or what I wanted to see. With 3 shot lead with 3 holes left, Shane Lowry’s win probability was 97%. He just needed to play safe and finish out the holes without any heroic shots. Just a textbook, boring last 3 holes.

But Shane Lowry did something he has never done in the history of his career…who, by the way, is one of the most genuine and beloved players with unshakable inner fire, a Ryder Cup Hero and definitely not afraid of winning…he double bogeyed 16th and the 17th hole, back-to-back, putting the balls in the water and losing the lead to Nico Echavarria who played a flawless round but still needed a miracle. Well, he got it.

Normally, this type of disastrous finish by any player would simply warrant them denying the post-interview and heading home. But Lowry didn’t hide from it. He stood at the mic and said exactly what it was:

“I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away.”

But then came the quote that’ll break your heart:

“I only wanted it for her today. I don’t care about anything else. I wanted it so bad. Just to see her little ginger hair running down the 18th green would have been the most special thing in the world.”

The 18th green will be there again. So will she. And next time, Shane Lowry is going to make sure she gets to run.