Shane Lowry had an excellent first round in the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. He shot a 2-under 68 to finish within the top-10 of the leaderboard. However, Friday hasn’t been his day so far. And he has not even completed half a round so far.
Multiple sources shared a video of Lowry driving the ball on the 214-yard par-3 17th hole in the major. However, he ended up cold top-shanking the ball. So instead of flying close to 214 yards, it swung right 164 yards and dropped in the water just before the green.
Lowry was already struggling in the round before the incident occurred. He had scored two bogeys on the 10th and the 14th holes earlier. So he had dropped down from 2-under par to even par already. The 17th hole blunder led to a penalty stroke and an eventual double bogey.
That meant that Lowry dropped from T8 at the beginning of the second round, 52 places down to T60. He was now closer on the leaderboard to his close friend, Rory McIlroy, who had already expressed having a “s**t” round on Thursday. We guess it’s Lowry’s turn to have the same experience.
#WATCH — Shane Lowry just cold topped / shanked one into the water on 17
@LowryTracker | #PGAChampionship pic.twitter.com/mRo88nkVJ1
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 15, 2026
Like McIlroy, fans were critical of Lowry’s actions on the course. And they shared their views about the same all over X.
Shane Lowry’s miscued hit gets a strong reaction from the netizens
No one would have been more frustrated about missing the tee shot more than Shane Lowry. But the comments section didn’t hold back at making sure he knew the huge mistake he had made.
A couple of comments read, “Fook this place.”
More than a comment, it felt like a release Lowry must have felt after topping the ball on the 17th hole. He, too, must have had the exact same thought in his head. Finding the water on a course that isn’t popular for having too many water obstacles is definitely unfortunate.
Someone wrote, “Shane Lowry just hit a cold top-shank into the water on No. 17. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
However, another comment also said, “Didn’t he do something similar at the Cognizant earlier this year…on hole 17? 
”
The first fan must have missed the two huge blunders Lowry made on the 16th and 17th holes in the final round of the 2026 Cognizant Classic. He was sitting comfortably at the top of the leaderboard with a comfortable three-stroke lead. However, the Irishman found the water on both holes and ended up scoring consecutive double bogeys. He expressed his disappointment in finishing the tournament at T2, two strokes behind Nico Echavarria.
A fan wrote, “I like seeing pros struggle. Not because I don’t like Lowry, but seeing him hit shots like this makes him relatable for the average joe. Like relax if you don’t pure every shot. The best in the world still hit some really bad shots sometimes.”
Lastly, a fan said, “He must be near the leaderboard.”
This is another tease at Lowry’s howler back at the PGA National Champion Course, suggesting that he has a habit of ruining an advantage. The fact that he was indeed close to the top of the leaderboard makes it even more accurate. He was about to end his seven-year individual winless streak on the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, that was not to be, and his drought continues to this day.
