Yes, Shane Lowry lost his rag when asked about Rory McIlroy... but it proved that the fires still burn hot, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI

• Shane Lowry wasn't in the best mood for talking after his mistakes on Saturday 
• His annoyance at being asked about McIlroy is a positive sign about his attitude

Shane Lowry had calmed down by the time he grinned and chuckled his way to the driving range at Augusta National on Sunday afternoon. The previous evening? That was a rather different mood.

The video of an interview he gave after the third round here has drawn a little attention, which was to be expected. When an athlete loses his rag and it is on camera, what comes next is near enough guaranteed.

His trigger point was a question about Rory McIlroy, but really it was the two bogeys with which he closed his round on Saturday, downgrading an excellent leaderboard position to one on the outer fringe of contention. He had reason to be irate with himself.

Had he not missed a putt from 3ft on the 17th, his head may have been in a better spot when he drove into the trees at the last, and seven-under might not have drifted to five.

Answering a question about McIlroy, his great friend, was evidently not what he wanted, especially within quarter of an hour of signing for 72 on a scorecard he wished to burn.

‘No,’ he snapped, when asked if he had found himself looking back to the group behind, where McIlroy was going on a tear. ‘I’m not going to stand here and talk about Rory for 10 minutes. I’m trying to win the tournament as well.’

That killed it off, but then he quickly returned to a theme which has gained traction in golf lately. It was sparked a few weeks ago when some took exception to Collin Morikawa refusing to do interviews after his collapse at Bay Hill. The American later clarified his silent sentiment: ‘I don’t owe you.’

McIlroy was among those to side with Morikawa and Lowry picked up the topic.

‘We talk about Collin Morikawa a few weeks ago,’ he said. ‘I think we need time. I think I need half an hour now to sit there and gather my thoughts. I can’t be coming to talk to you guys straightaway. It shouldn’t be happening.

‘Tennis players have to talk to the media, but they have half an hour or an hour before they have to do it. We should have the same.

‘That’s how I feel. I’m probably going to say something stupid. I probably already have said something stupid because I’m p***** off right now. I’m just going to leave, OK?’

And so he did, which has only contributed to the storm in a tee cup around whom golfers should speak to and when and their broader responsibilities to keeping things interesting.

It is a rather niche, dry conversation; more fascinating was the proof of fires still burning hot within Lowry.

When he did an interview with Mail Sport last March, he admitted there had been a considerable number of doubts in his mind about the state of his game. At the heart of it was a recurring question — was he over the hill?

He was a few weeks shy of 37 then and is 38 now, six years on from winning his home Open at Portrush. He may have had reason to question himself back then, after falling as low as 54th in the world rankings, but no sport equals golf for rapid upturns from nasty spots.

He was sixth in two majors in 2024 and led the Open after 36 holes, as well as winning on the PGA Tour before collecting three top-10s in six tournaments ahead of this one.

He is 13th in the world and on Sunday started his final round in a tie for sixth with Scottie Scheffler, among others. He is playing close to the best golf of his life.

Getting asked about McIlroy is natural — they are each the other’s closest friend on tour. They have known each other since being childhood rivals in Ireland and Lowry has previously spoken of feeling protective towards a golfer whose every result draws scrutiny. Witness how it was Lowry who bundled McIlroy away from his infamous car park scuffle with an American caddie at the last Ryder Cup.

As he waited to tee off on Sunday, Lowry was perhaps aware that he might soon need to fill that role in earnest if McIlroy was to lose his battle for the ages against Bryson DeChambeau. But he will have been focused more on his own tournament, his own chances, his own relevance as a sportsman at the top of his game.

Already it appears clear there will be none of the reservations about his inclusion in October’s Ryder Cup match compared to discussions in 2023. For European captain Luke Donald, that will be one of several positives from this week.

Donald has been here for the duration and Mail Sport understands he will next month undertake a sixth reconnaissance trip to Bethpage Black in the space of a year.

His US equivalent, Keegan Bradley, is believed to have gone once, so we can deduce a little there about their relative attention to detail. That the final day commenced with Lowry, Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg in the top 10 of a leaderboard headed by McIlroy will have been reassuring. Likewise the accompanying presence of Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Rasmus Hojgaard in the next cluster of 10.

It is possibly not enough to compensate for Jon Rahm’s loss of big-stage form, but Donald was clear earlier in the week when he said he was ‘pleased’ with the ongoing outlook. In his understated language, that was effusive.

This has already been a season when McIlroy, Aberg, Hovland, Sepp Straka and Thomas Detry have won seven times combined on the PGA Tour.

Americans have managed just five on their own soil, which is either something or nothing when the calendar has only just reached its defining run of majors.

For his part, Lowry is gaining speed and will shortly be returning to Portrush in a bid to get back his Claret Jug.

He will likely be in McIlroy’s shadow once again when he gets there, though.