Shane Lowry bemoaned a "disaster" of an 18th at the Dubai Invitational that saw him blow a one-shot lead to finish two shots behind Spain's Nacho Elvira.
Lowry, bidding for his first DP World Tour title since winning the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, had started the final round in a tie for second, two strokes off Elvira and looked to have made the decisive move with a 25-foot birdie on the 15th to move into the lead.
But the Irishman found both bunker and water on the 18th, finishing with a double bogey that shattered his hopes and allowed Elvira, who had struggled early in the round, to duly par the 18th for victory.
"A disaster, that's what that was," Lowry said reflecting on his finish. "I should be winning that, and this one will hurt. This is my 18th season as a pro and I’m still no closer to understanding this game. It is nuts."
"It’s not good enough. It’s been a few years since I’ve won. It’s hard to get over the line and I should have, but I didn’t. I’ll lick my wounds and move on and get going for next week. What else can I do?"
Lowry will get an immediate chance to move on at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic this week.
Both Lowry and Rory McIlroy will compete in the €8.6 million tournament at the Emirates Golf Club and while McIlroy was disappointing not to be in the mix at the final few holes at the Invitational, he's happy with his first start of the year.
"Overall, it was a good first week back," he said. "I felt like I learned a lot of stuff about my game. I wasn't very sharp but, hopefully, I’m a little bit sharper going into next week than I was going into this week.
"I didn't get off to the greatest of starts. 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 birdie there. It was a good first week back."
