Rory McIlroy's close friend refuses to 'talk about him' after Round 3 of the 2025 Masters

Modified Apr 14, 2025 11:53 GMT

PGA: Masters Tournament - Third Round - Source: Imagn — Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Masters Tournament [Image via IMAGN]

2025 Masters favorite Rory McIlroy's close friend Shane Lowry is also competing in the iconic tournament at Augusta. While McIlroy is the solo leader ahead of the final round on Sunday, Lowry finds himself tied for 6th place after he had a disappointing finish to Round 3 on Saturday.

The Irishman shot consecutive bogeys at the par-4 hole 17 and hole 18. In the press conference after Round 3, Lowry expressed disappointment with his finish. When asked if he found himself looking back at Rory McIlroy, Lowry said no and mentioned he wouldn't talk about him.

Lowry said, via ASAP Sport:

"No. No, I'm not going to stand here and talk about Rory for 10 minutes. I'm trying to win the tournament, as well. I know that's what y'all want me to talk about, but I've just had a shit finish, I've got a chance to win the Masters tomorrow, and I'm going to go hit some balls."

A video of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry before the 2025 Masters:

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry share a great relationship as the duo have been friends since a very young age. They came up together playing junior golf in Ireland, and Lowry once even admitted feeling protective of McIlroy. He felt the latter was subject to a lot of unnecessary criticism from the golf world.

McIlroy also only had words of praise for Lowry. The 4-time Major championship winner even went to the point of saying that Lowry was his role model due to how conveniently he managed his professional and personal life.

What time will Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry tee off in Round 4 of the 2025 Masters?

In Round 4 of the 2025 Masters, Rory McIlroy will be paired with Bryson DeChambeau, and Shane Lowry will be paired with Scottie Scheffler. While McIlroy and DeChambeau will tee off at 2:30 PM ET, Lowry and Scheffler will tee off at 2:00 PM ET.

Here is a detailed look at the tee-off times for Round 4 of the 2025 Masters (All times ET):

9:40 AM - Brian Campbell
9:50 AM - Hideki Matsuyama, Akshay Bhatia
10:00 AM - Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee
10:10 AM - Brian Harman, J. J. Spaun
10:20 AM - Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark
10:30 AM - Danny Willett, J. T. Poston
10:40 AM - Sam Burns, Stephan Jaeger
11:00 AM - Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Taylor
11:10 AM - Tom Kim, Charl Schwartzel
11:20 AM - Davis Riley, Tommy Fleetwood
11:30 AM - Daniel Berger, Bubba Watson
11:40 AM - Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala
11:50 AM - Michael Kim, Denny McCarthy
12:00 PM - Maverick McNealy, Harris English
12:20 PM - Joaquin Niemann, Jon Rahm
12:30 PM - Byeong Hun An, Rasmus Hojgaard
12:40 PM - Jordan Spieth, Max Greyserman
12:50 PM - Tyrrell Hatton, Matt McCarty
1:00 PM - Davis Thompson, Tom Hoge
1:10 PM - Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland
1:20 PM - Sungjae Im, Max Homa
1:40 PM - Nicolas Echavarria, Xander Schauffele
1:50 PM - Justin Rose, Zach Johnson
2:00 PM - Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry
2:10 PM - Ludvig Aberg, Jason Day
2:20 PM - Corey Conners, Patrick Reed
2:30 PM - Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau

About the author

Varun is a Golf and WWE journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Roman Reigns’ ability to keep moving forward in life regardless of any obstacles. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he could go back in time and be a manager for someone in the WWE, it would have been Big Show.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Varun Anand Bhat